Something New
by Em1son
Summary: Alison's changes have become undeniable to Emily. But will everyone else be willing to believe that the former ice queen is capable of evolution? SEQUEL to Something Old. Emison. AlixEm pairing.
1. New Black

This is my take on what should happen after S 5x05... SPOILER ALERT if you aren't up to date with the show.

XXXX

She pats all around the mattress, trying to find a trace of her bed mate. All she finds as she opens her eyes is brightness. There doesn't seem to have been a struggle so she throws a shirt on as she listens for any sign of activity. She hops out of bed after hearing a noise from the hallway. She heads down the stairs as she follows the sound of movement and enters the rarely used kitchen.

The sight of Alison greets her and she finds it easier to breathe. It seems the blonde is making it her hobby to scare the brunette to death.

"You really need to stay put." Emily states, voice gruff from their activities.

"I was hoping I'd worn you out enough for you to sleep in today." Alison confesses as she stands over the hot stove. "I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed." she glances over to the brunette, flashing her an alluring smile, and notices Emily looking as though she's trying to decipher another difficult math problem.

"I see that." the swimmer stares with an unreadable expression as she looks between Alison and the kitchen.

"What?" Alison asks, knowing Emily couldn't possibly be that upset that she'd left the room. Yes A is still out and about but she doesn't think the bitch would be stupid enough to attack her in her own home in broad daylight, especially not with her father and her swimmer at home. "What is it?" she repeats.

"You're cooking." she does nothing to hide her astonishment.

"I worked at a diner for a couple months and they were always shorthanded so sometimes I'd have to help out in the kitchen." Alison explains easily as she turns her attention back to the frying pan. "It was fun so I decided to expand my knowledge a little." sharing these little bits of information makes her feel closer to Emily.

"So you learned how to cook." the brunette processes this particular detail.

"Is it that impossible for me to want to learn how to make food?" she isn't annoyed, just a little intrigued that the athlete seems to be having such a hard time wrapping her mind around this fact.

"No," the response is accompanied by a grin as she walks over to the blonde. Strong arms wrap around the runaway's waist as she stands behind the cook. Alison looks over to her shoulder as Emily leans in to show just how much she approves of the skill that the blonde has picked up."I think it's," she presses their mouths in a hungry kiss. "Incredibly sexy." she breathes against the blonde's lips.

They stand there satiating their appetite until the runaway reluctantly breaks away, the heat from the stove reminding her of her current task at hand. Alison shakes her head, blue eyes twinkling with mirth as she realizes what Emily's thinking about.

"Save it for later." she suggests, rather regretfully.

"Maybe after your dad leaves?" Emily propositions, knowing the fact that her father's home is the only reason they aren't indulging their more carnal appetites. Alison wearing nothing but an apron will certainly be appetizing but she'd rather satisfy their needs without an audience. "He is leaving today right?" the hopeful tone in her voice is rewarded with a small nod.

"For now maybe you can help me." she suggests.

"Cook?" Emily looks at her like she's grown a third head. "You know I don't know how." her mother doesn't trust her with the family recipes, often only letting her help by cutting the vegetables.

"I can teach you." Alison offers.

"I'd like that." the pair smile, looking forward to trying something new together. "Now, what do you need me to do?" the athlete presents herself eagerly.

"Get the eggs from the fridge?" she asks.

Emily does as she's asked. They set out to make breakfast with Alison giving instructions, telling her which spices to use, which vegetables to cut. Before she knows it she's standing over the stove beside Alison, pouring the ingredients from the bowl onto the sizzling frying pan in front of the blonde.

"I gotta say," Emily states as she watches the blonde in utter fascination. "I never thought I'd see you looking so domesticated."

"It's not a bad thing right?" she asks though she knows how much Emily approves.

"It isn't," it's just more proof that Alison really has matured over the years. She smiles, falling for the blonde just a little more. "It's just surprising." she explains. "It's a pleasant surprise though." the athlete assures.

"Well, now we know which one of us is butch." bright blues twinkle impishly.

"Just because I'm athletic doesn't mean I'm butch." Emily certainly hates the generalization of gay people. "Stereotype much?" she rolls her eyes but grins to let Alison know she isn't offended that she's being teased.

"Just calling it like I see it, Em." she flashes a roguish smirk at the brunette. Emily glares playfully at the shorter girl who releases a small chuckle. "At least we know what roles we'll be playing when we host a barbecue." Alison reasons, placing a chaste kiss on the athlete's lips before settling the plate of food in front of the brunette.

"Fine," chocolate brown eyes flicker with glee. "But I draw the line at wearing Birkenstock sandals."

"Damn," Alison feigns a sigh of disappointment as she puts their food on a serving plate. She leans up, the lack of heels making their height difference that much noticeable, and pecks the taller girl's lips. "There goes your Christmas present."

"Just for that, we're going to build up your gay-ducation." Emily chuckles in amusement.

Alison smiles before grabbing forks from the silverware drawer. In all honesty, the meal isn't complicated or grand but Emily eats as though it's the first time she's ever had breakfast and the blonde feels she can breathe a little easier as warmth floods her chest. It's a momentous occasion. Not only is it yet another step in their relationship, it's another first for them seeing as Alison has never cooked for anyone save for customers. They also both know what the menu items represent.

They begin to spoon feed each other, Emily offering forkfuls of cinnamon french toast whilst Alison does the same with the omelette.

XXXX

By the time Kenneth DiLaurentis decides to go to work, the girls have already settled themselves on the couch. Neither feel like moving, both too comfortable to consider even venturing outside where peace will surely be unattainable.

There isn't much incentive to go out anyway. Reporters are still lurking around the corners. It seems as though they've made interrogating Alison their life's pursuit. They wait, ready to pester her with questions, hoping that she'll finally answer. Of course, there's also the incessant whispering and stares that they have to go through whenever they walk through town. They get enough of that at school.

They deserve a couple of days off from feeling like fish swimming around a cramped tank so they've settle for a day in.

The athlete sits on the family room couch with the blonde, Emily's arm draped around Alison's midsection as the blonde's back leans against her side. The runaway traces her fingertips across the back of Emily's hand as it's splayed out on her stomach.

Emily makes good on her word about expanding Alison's gay-ducation so they're comfortably seated watching Netflix.

To be more accurate, Alison's eyes are glued to the screen as she watches with genuine interest. Emily knows because she's kept her gaze on the blonde's face, mindful of the shorter girl's expressions as the show progresses. The swimmer observes the way the runaway's forehead crinkles when she dislikes something going on. She notices how the right corner of the blonde's upper lip tweaks upward when she finds something amusing. The movement is usually followed by a small breathy laugh.

The episode ends and Alison turns her head to face the brunette who she knows hasn't really been paying attention to the show.

"I thought you wanted to watch." she reminds teasingly.

"Yes," Emily grins brightly as she leans in to give the blonde a kiss that does well to show how much she appreciates being able to watch the runaway. "But you're definitely more interesting." she whispers breathlessly.

"I'm glad you find me so fascinating." the blonde licks her lips.

She turns her torso slightly as she raises her head to meet the brunette's lips in yet another kiss. The blonde basks in the warmth of the athlete's embrace. A comfortable familiarity washes over the pair. It feels as though they've done this before, like they've spent many afternoons lounging about the couch swapping sweet kisses.

They could definitely get used to spending their days like this. Emily runs her hand underneath the blonde's shirt.

Before they're able to be complete lost within themselves, they hear the door opening and a very familiar voice screaming Alison's name and Emily expects the blonde to scramble out of her arms. The runaway merely sighs, pressing their lips together in a promise that they'll pick up where they left off as she pulls away slightly.

Emily moves to take her hand away but Alison just drapes it across her shoulder. The space between them is nonexistent as the runaway positions herself.

Alison goes back to leaning with her a portion of her back pressed the swimmer. She doesn't question the movement and neither does Aria who comes into the family room. She sets her bag on the coffee table and heads over to the empty chair which matches the leather couch the pair are currently seated on.

"Seriously with everything that's going on you leave your door unlocked?" Aria asks as she comes into the room.

"Hello Aria, please come in." Alison replies dryly.

"You weren't answering your phone." the petite brunette explains. "I'm sorry Mike went out with my dad this morning and I just can't take being home alone." the declaration makes the blonde feel guilty for snapping at her troubled friend.

"It's fine." the runaway assures comfortingly.

"Emily," the writer greets her friend. "I didn't know you'd be here." she states.

"I stayed the night after I helped Alison put up new locks on her bedroom." the tallest girl informs her friend who gives a small nod.

"You can change locks but you can't change tires?" the potential literary major teases, not thinking too much about the fact that the pair have been staying over each other's houses a lot lately.

"I never said I couldn't change tires." Emily clarifies. "I just don't like adhering to stereotypes."

"For the last time, we looked at you because you're sporty, not because you're gay." Aria defends. "Besides, it's not a stereotype if it's true." the petite brunette debates whilst Alison chuckles. The swimmer merely rolls her eyes in defeat. "Spencer's on her way by the way." Aria remarks as she tucks her legs underneath her, making herself more comfortable on the leather recliner and they hear the door open once more.

"You really need to lock your door." Spencer states as she files in the living room.

"Trust me, I know." Emily makes a mental memo of double locking all her doors in order to prevent this sort of intrusion from happening once more. As much as she loves her friends, she finds herself wishing her moment of peace with Alison can last just a little longer. "What brings you here?" the athlete looks to the genius.

"Melissa's home." Spencer says, earning an understanding nod from the swimmer and the blonde. "Em, you stayed over again?" she asks with a hint of accusation.

The question is rewarded with a relaxed nod. Both of the shorter brunettes know that Alison and Emily spending copious amounts of time together has little to do with the dangerous encounters the runaway's been having. They understand that it isn't really safe for the former ice queen to be by herself but they also know the runaway and the swimmer have their own issues to sort through. They haven't felt the need to interfere.

Too bad the same can't be said for their other blonde friend. When Hanna arrives she immediately sends a disapproving look at the couple cuddling on the couch.

Everyone is too busy to notice the flash of green in Hanna's usually blue eyes.

XXXX

What's supposed to be a quiet day in turns into a sleepover as all the girls decide they want to spend the night at Alison's.

The genius and the writer don't even think to look at how close the runaway and the swimmer are sitting but Alison can feel a pair of blue depths darker than her own watching the lack of space between them. She turns to meet Hanna's accusatory glance with a raised brow. Their eyes meet briefly but before the runaway can read her friend's intentions, Hanna turns her attention towards the television screen.

"I can't believe we're watching this." the black and gold haired teen remarks in distaste and everyone in the room is wondering why she would be averse to watching seeing as she clearly isn't homophobic.

"It's a good show." Spencer defends.

"I feel like I'm staring into my impact future." Hanna's dislike stems from the fact that they're watching a show set in prison.

They're already in trouble with the law. She doesn't need to see what her life will be like once the police catch on that Alison's been lying about being kidnapped and who knows what else the runaway's been lying about. Also, all the moaning and groaning is getting on her nerves. It's not the two girls getting it on that's bothering her or the fact that she's watching soft core porn with her friends. It's just that she feels there's enough sexual tension in the room.

"Immediate." Spencer corrects automatically, always ready to correct. The sarcastic blonde looks at her in confusion. "The word you're looking for is immediate." she explains, earning a roll of the eyes and a scoff from the resentful blonde.

"Whatever," she turns her attention away from the human dictionary.

"It's nice to know we'll be in jail together." Aria jests, trying to lighten the mood which Hanna seems to be intent on dampening.

"If we do go to jail together, dibs on Emily." Hanna states and the two shorter brunettes look at her incredulously. "What? Just because I'm going gay for the stay doesn't mean I'm not going to be picky about what goes into my vagina." she notes the steely look on Alison's face.

"Why Emily?" Spencer asks, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"She's very experienced." Alison answers easily, the other girls looking at her curiously, wondering why it sounds like she's the one speaking from experience. "Why Spencer? Are you jealous?" the blonde is quick to turn the tables before any of her friends can form the question in their minds. "I'm sure Aria would love to travel down the rainbow brick road with you, you know Team Sparia and all that." everyone except Hanna is amused.

"Well if Aria gets Spencer, I get Emily, who do you get, Ali?" Hanna challenges as though she's goading Alison to confirm her beliefs about the change in her relations with the swimmer.

"Who says you get Emily?" the runaway questions, not willing to back down from whatever game Hanna's playing. She matches the intensity of the other blonde's stare and all she sees is anger. Alison finds herself a bit confused because they'd had a heart to heart the other day and while she didn't think it would mend all wounds, she thought they were on their way to healing their unstable friendship. She doesn't understand why the other blonde is looking at her with such resentment. "I don't remember her agreeing."

"I guess that means I'm the one that's going stag to the gay parade since we all know who Emily's going to choose." Hanna remarks dryly.

"I'm sure you'll pick up your own stud." Emily assures, not really sure why the grunge looking blonde feels the need to constantly bring up this whole thing.

"Maybe it won't be so bad having a bitch." Hanna's eyes spark with mischief as she turns her full attention to the blonde that's using Emily's lap as her pillow. "Alison, care to share what it's like to have one at your back and call?"

"Beck." Spencer corrects before she can stop herself.

"I wouldn't know." she answers feigning disinterest, knowing the sarcastic blonde is merely trying to get a rise out of her. Plus, she's established the fact that she doesn't think of Emily as her bitch. "Hanna, care to share what it's like to be a bitch?"

"I don't know Ali, you have more experience with that than I do." just then the doorbell rings.

"You're right," the runaway concedes with a bitter smirk on her face. She knows she'll never escape her past misconducts, but having them brought up by her friend sends a stabbing pain through her chest. "I do." Alison gets up without another word and heads over to the door, leaving the others to stare at her retreating form.

"Ali," Aria calls before jumping up from her seat and following the sullen blonde to the door, throwing Hanna a look of annoyance before exiting the room.

"Hanna!" Emily scolds the bitchy blonde, wondering where the animosity is stemming from since the two blondes seemed to be on the path to mending their friendship. "What the hell is your problem?" while she clearly disapproves of her scornful friend's behavior, she can't help but question Hanna's sanity at the moment.

"I thought you and Alison were alright." Spencer questions.

"We are." and it's clear to the girls that she isn't lying to them, only to herself. "It's just that," she begins hesitantly. "Caleb's been on my ass about A and Alison." Hanna explains.

"I know he's concerned about you but he has no right to pass judgement on Alison especially since he doesn't know the whole story." Emily says as she gets up from the couch and begins to head over to where the distraught blonde had gone.

"What a surprise, Emily's going after Alison again!" the resentful blonde sneers as she throws her hands up in exasperation, tired of witnessing the lengths Emily go through to protect Alison. "You really need to stop letting your vagina do your thinking for you." the swimmer just throws her a look of disappointment and displeasure before exiting the family room.

"Ok, you need to calm down with that." Spencer recommends. "I get it, you're angry at Alison but do you really need to take it out on Emily?"

"Why shouldn't I?" the question is accompanied by her frustration over the situation.

"Maybe because she hasn't done anything?" Spencer points out. "It's not like she's taking sides." the scholarly brunette debates.

"Isn't she?" Emily's quick to throw barbs at Hanna for the runaway's sake.

"You're attacking Alison, of course she's going to defend her." the genius rationalizes. "Even Aria went after Ali." Spencer reminds. The resentful blonde's actions toward the runaway clearly have them all curious. It also makes them more susceptible to treat Alison as a victim of Hanna's seemingly unjustifiable ire. "Are you still mad because Alison was flirting with Caleb?" the scholarly brunette asks, determined to get to the root of the blonde's indignation.

"No." Hanna replies. She finds herself shocked by how truthfully she answered. "I thought her being here would make things easier but now everything's different." she hates the way things are changing.

"I understand Caleb being pissed because he wants to blame the whole A situation on Alison." Spencer deduces. Caleb has a very cut and dry opinion of Alison. "That explains why he's peeved with her, but what about you?" the genius raises the question Hanna's been fighting herself to answer. "Why are you so angry with her?"

"Why aren't you?" she deflects.

"I don't have the time to contemplate how I feel about Alison right now." the genius is already torn between her parents divorce, worrying about Toby, and wondering if her sister is A.

"And yet you have time to question me." she bites back.

"I'm not the one who's majorly wigging because Alison's back." it's clear Hanna isn't ready to talk, let alone think, about why Alison being back bothers her so much. "Look, I'm not telling you how to feel." Spencer remembers how horribly the runaway treated the once overweight blonde. Alison playing nice with Caleb is certainly a cause for concern as well. She's not disregarding Hanna's feelings, knowing the bullied blonde is entitled to be angry and suspicious. "I'm just saying you need figure out whatever issues you have with Alison." the genius advises sagely. "And try not to drag Emily into it." she can't think of a reason why Emily deserves such antagonism from Hanna.

But Hanna can't make that promise because it's becoming clear to her that aside from her identity crisis, Emily's the reason why she's so troubled by Alison's return from the grave.

XXXX

Aria reaches the door before Alison who seems to be lost in her thoughts. The sight of the delivery man greets them and she can't help but feel thankful. The writer quickly takes the packages of food while the runaway pays for their dinner.

"You okay?" the petite brunette asks as they haltingly make their return to the family room.

"I get it, she doesn't trust me." the blonde remarks. She doesn't blame her but the runaway wonders if that's the only reason why Hanna's treating her like a social pariah. "None of you do." except her mermaid of course. "But why does she keep hauling Emily into it?" it pains her to know that the swimmer is suffering as she's being targeted by their friend for Alison's mistakes.

"I don't know." Aria answers with equal confusion. "I think she's just lashing out at every one."

"I'm sorry to be throwing you into yet another one of my messes." the runaway whispers, her breath heavy with regret and sorrow.

"It's okay," hazel eyes widen with shock. She clearly wasn't expecting an apology from the former ice queen. She certainly wasn't expecting Alison to look so sincere whilst she was saying it. "It's not your fault Hanna's about to have a meltdown." because really, the angry blonde should know by know that her friends will be willing to drop everything and listen to her yet Hanna seems content to just attack Alison.

"Hey," Emily meets them halfway, eyes trained on the pensive blonde.

Aria takes the hint and proceeds back into the family room with the food in tow, ready to prove to Hanna that she doesn't have to carry her burden alone. Alison's back but they're all in this together.

"Is there something I should know about?" Alison asks.

She recalls all her arguments with her resentful friend. The more she thinks about Hanna's words and actions, the more she realizes that the hateful blonde's attitude has less to do with her return and more to do with her current relations with Emily.

"What do you mean?" the swimmer's clueless.

"You and Hanna." the runaway crosses her arms as she waits for the brunette's explanation.

"We're best friends." she doesn't know where Alison's going with this conversation.

"And what were we before now?" the blonde clues the swimmer in, trying to provide a connection between their past and Hanna's current behavior.

"We've always been more than best friends."

Emily answers honestly and Alison can't help but smile at her sincerity. The brunette closes the gap between them, placing a comforting kiss on the runaway's lips. The blonde eagerly repays her affectionate actions by brushing her tongue along the roof of the athlete's mouth. The swimmer moans and it almost makes Alison want to drop the interrogation.

"Are you sure there's nothing going on between you and Hanna?" she gets straight to the point after they break for air.

"Wait, you think she's acting like this because she's into me?" the brunette laughs at the absurdity of Alison's insinuations. "I mean, we did make out once but other than that, we're just friends." Emily recalls and bright blue eyes flash dangerously as they demand an explanation. "We were drunk and Katy Perry was playing." the confession only supports the runaway's theories. "It was just a little too much vodka and some friendly experimentation." she takes Alison's hand into her own, interlocking their fingers as they walk to the family room.

Alison decides to drop the subject for now, opting to investigate further. Things between her and Emily are complicated enough without having to add Hanna's issues. The blonde sighs as she runs her thumb along the back of the swimmer's hand.

"Next you're going to tell me you kissed Spencer." she wonders just how close Emily has gotten with all their friends.

"No." Emily declares. "But she did kiss Aria though."

The brunette laughs at the wide eyed expression on the runaway's face. They head back into the family room where Aria is busy handing food to Spencer. She sits with Emily and when the lights are turned off, their hands automatically clasp together. Hanna's glaring at them, they both can feel the heat of her disapproving gaze but as Alison traces lazy circles around the back of the swimmer's hand neither of them can really find it in themselves to care.

As Alison processes the newly retained information she watches the television screen before her, the theme song blares after Aria presses play.

Apparently gay is the new black.

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Thanks so much for reading my previous fic! I hope this lives up to your expectations!

Alright, who else thinks Emily's getting back together with Paige? That "i love you" slip is too telling. Plus the fact that Alison's still sneaking around doesn't help. Did the writers just fool us into believing there's hope for Alison and Emily to be endgame?

What do you think of PLL current season and my fic so far?


	2. New Blood

And here we go...

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Aside from the skirmish between the two blondes, the weekend had been relatively relaxing. Of course Hanna continued to glare at Alison the entire time, probably only stopping when they had to go to sleep. She made a show of rolling her eyes every time the runaway spoke, offered passive-aggressive digs but much to the two smaller brunette's surprise, Alison let her comments slide.

While Alison sat there, calm and collected, Emily had been the one who looked like she wanted to pull the black streaks from Hanna's head.

She almost did, but thankfully having Alison's hand on her thigh calmed her down. It wasn't until Spencer had effectively told Hanna to shut up that things quieted. They spent the rest of the night finishing their shows, talking about nothing important in particular. It was as though they all had silently agreed not to discuss A.

All in all it felt almost normal, like they were five friends enjoying a simple sleep over instead of five friends trying to put together a puzzle without having all the pieces.

Feeling guilty about spending so much time with the runaway, after she got back from the sleepover she spent Sunday with her mother. She allowed the older Fields woman to gush over her. It had been Aria's turn to stay with Alison so she wasn't so worried about the blonde's safety. Thankfully her mother hadn't asked anything about Alison. It's probably because they both wanted to enjoy their day together and Pam knew bringing up the blonde will only send her daughter in a frenzy.

She walks along the hallway and heads to her locker with a spring in her step, feeling like a teenager. It feels extremely strange to be so happy.

In hindsight, Emily knows her troubles are far from over but she's not going to let A ruin this moment. She wants to hold onto this feeling and the fact that she doesn't want to jump in front of a moving car every time she hears her text alert. Instead, she looks forward to it because most likely it's Alison's reply. They'd been texting each other since she returned home.

Emily can't help but think this must be what it feels like to be a normal teenager as she enjoys the sweet, sometimes silly, simple text messages between her and Alison.

The seasoned swimmer fishes her books out of her bag after she opens her locker. Her phone pings and she immediately pauses what she's doing, knowing it's the runaway replying to her message about meeting at the cafeteria now that it's lunch time. She can't help but smile at the way Alison ends the text with a smiley face emoticon.

"Hey Em," Sydney greets as she stands beside Emily.

"Hey," the seasoned swimmer sends her a small smile as she puts her phone back in her pocket and resumes to sort through her locker.

"How was your weekend?" the shorter brunette asks.

"It was great." she replies earnestly, her mind drifting back to the quiet day with her mother, her sleepover with the girls, and the interactions between her and Alison.

"That's good." Sydney leans against the locker, tilting her head as she watches Emily's movements. "My parents were totally trying to get me to bond with them so I couldn't really do anything." she remarks, earning a sympathetic smile from the seasoned swimmer. "We're still on for later right?" she asks.

"Um," Emily can't remember making plans with the dark haired newcomer.

"I really can use the help." Sydney pleads, throwing in a small pout in hopes it'll be enough to sway Emily into agreeing. "Don't worry, Paige isn't going to be there." she assures hoping to seal the deal.

"Sorry, I can't today." it's technically Hanna's turn to spend time with her fellow blonde but the girls are not really willing to start World War Blonde so, much to everyone's relief, Spencer volunteers. "I was actually going to go study with Spencer and Alison." it's a hit two birds with one stone kind of thing seeing as she really does need help with her paper for American Government.

"I just need you to time me really quickly." Sydney looks close to groveling. "Come on, you already bailed on me last time and I really need to improve if I want to come close to swimming for a meet this season."

"I ca," before she can decline, the shorter brunette moves toward the other end of the hall.

"Alison right?" she comes up in front of the blonde news headline and flashes her a sickeningly sweet smile as she stares at her from head to toe. Alison knows an appraising look when she sees one. "I'm Sydney," she introduces herself. "I know you guys have plans later but would it be alright if I borrow Emily after school for a little while?"

The runaway looks a bit taken back at the newcomer's forwardness. She regains her composure, maintaining a look curiosity as the stranger continues to size her up as though they're in a competition. Blue eyes shift between the two brunettes. The seasoned swimmer looks shocked at what's happening right now while the shorter swimmer merely grins. Alison wants to say that she isn't Emily's keeper but as she thinks back, she realizes that the athlete has been with her for a majority of the taller brunette's free time. As much as she wants to spend time with Emily, she doesn't want to keep her from enjoying herself with her other friends.

But the newcomer's eyes glint with mischief. It's almost like she's challenging Alison to stake her claim on Emily. She throws a sideways glance toward the seasoned swimmer's way, wondering just who the hell this stranger is and why is she so chummy with her mermaid.

"If that's what Emily wants." as much as she wants to tell this new girl off for being presumptuous, she remembers the Hanna thing.

She doesn't need any more of Emily's friends to hate her and she certainly doesn't want to be the clingy needy girlfriend because honestly, she doesn't know what she's supposed to be. She's at a loss, not knowing where they stand and what she's supposed to say.

"Thanks Alison," the runaway stills as the newcomer's hand begins to trace over her scarf. "Cute scarf by the way." she turns her attention back to Emily. She gives the taller brunette a hug and Alison's brow raises as she watches Sydney run her hand along the small of Emily's back, taking her sweet ass time to retrieve her limb. "I'll see you later Em." she flashes a small flirtatious smile at Emily and Alison fights the urge to rip her wide lips off her face.

XXXX

Spencer watches the blonde before her who seems to be concentrating on her textbook. It's unnerving, seeing her friend looking so studious. The genius remembers their previous study sessions. Whenever Alison came over to study, she'd be flipping through pages of gossip and fashion magazines instead of doing her homework.

Even though she isn't used to seeing her newly returned friend studying, she knows from the way Alison is scribbling answers quickly onto her paper that there's something wrong.

It's almost like the blonde is trying hard to concentrate on her work yet her mind won't let her. She hears the runaway sigh in defeat and quickly turns her attention back to her computer. She doesn't want the blonde to know she's being observed. Alison gets enough of that from school, she doesn't need it from her friends too. The sound of a text book slamming shut echoes through the room so Spencer uses the opportunity to freely observe the fraught blonde.

"What's wrong?" she asks, knowing better than to ask if Alison needs help.

The runaway's face is visibly torn looking as though she's weighing her options and Spencer has to admit it still stings to know that after everything they've been through, Alison still won't confide in her.

"It's just something petty." the blonde shakes her head as she looks at the scholarly senior. She can see the slightly hurt look on the brunette's' face and knows that Spencer's upset because she won't talk to her. "It's nothing compared to what you're going through." and Spencer can't help but be shocked at Alison's willingness to trivialize her troubles for her friend's sake.

She's so used to the old Alison disregarding whatever troubles she and the others are going through in order to discuss whatever the blonde thought was more pressing.

"While my parents divorce is quite emotionally disturbing," Spencer musters up a response after spending a few minutes looking like a fish out of water. It's definitely weird, having Alison look at her like she cares. "I'm sure that's not true." she decides to at least meet the blonde halfway, realizing that perhaps Alison isn't playing games. As bright blue eyes shine with such worry she finds herself believing that the runaway is really trying to mend their broken friendship. "I mean, we all have our issues but that doesn't make one less important than the other." she reminds, knowing that they all should know by now that no matter what happens they'll always be together.

"How are you holding up?" Alison asks.

Spencer can see concern clear on her features and knows she isn't asking to keep the subject off her, she's genuinely worried about the genius. Again, the brunette is at a loss for words.

"I don't blame my mom." Spencer begins and it seems Alison still has the ability to coax the truth from her. "My dad has lied so many times," she thinks about Mrs. DiLaurentis, about Jason. "But it still hurts." she's not a child and knows that the world isn't filled with cotton candy and unicorns. "I know life isn't all sunshines and rainbows." she vents. "I know that happy endings are virtually impossible but I always thought my parents would be the one constant thing in my life." she feels like a weight's been lifted off her shoulders.

She's spent all of her efforts focusing on how her mother feels about the divorce that she hasn't had the time to think about what her parents separation means to her.

"Your parents will always be there for you." Alison reminds as she turns to the brunette. She places a comforting hand on the genius's knee and Spencer can't help but marvel at the gentle soothing tone in her voice. It's the first time she's heard the blonde speak without malice or an agenda. "Them not being together isn't going to change that." and though the scholarly senior knows this it helps to hear it from someone else.

"Thank you," she offers Alison a thankful smile.

The blonde squeezes her knee once more before retracting her limb. She offers Spencer a smile in return before turning her attention to the stacks of textbooks on the brunette's bed. She picks up her next homework assignment.

"Anytime." the runaway hopes that her friend will take her up on her offer.

"So what about you?" Spencer questions and Alison isn't really surprised. "What's got you looking so thoughtful?" when the youngest Hastings has her mind set on something, she won't stop until she gets what she wants. "And don't give me some bull about you worrying about A." she warns, eyes narrowing at her friend who laughs.

"I wouldn't insult your intelligence like that." Alison assures with an amused smile. "What do you know about Sydney?" she questions, deciding it won't hurt to confide in Spencer.

"The new girl?" she wonders why the newcomer has sparked her friend's interest. "Nothing really." she answers because she hasn't really talked to the girl. She's seen her around school, often talking to Emily. "Just that she's really cool with Emily." the youngest Hastings comments and Alison seems to be soaking in the information. "Why?"

"I just find it weird that a senior would be trying so hard to get on the varsity swim team." it's clear that Sydney is sketchy to say the least. "It's too late for her to get a scholarship."

"Maybe she's not trying to get into the varsity swim team." Spencer says as she continues to type on her laptop, wondering why Alison is bothered by the new girl. She looks up from her computer, eyes trained on the blonde as she tests a theory. Her fingers are clacking away at the keyboard but Alison doesn't fail to hear her next statement. "Maybe's she's trying to get into Emily's pants." Spencer's brow arches upward as the assesses the results of her insinuation.

The genius doesn't fail to notice how Alison stiffens at her comment, her eyes turning that familiar frosty ice blue.

XXXX

She never said she wanted to be here yet that didn't stop Sydney from cornering her at the end of class. She observes the beginner in action, taking careful note of her strokes and her breathing. Her thumb presses the stop button as her pupil touches the edge of the pool with the tip of her middle finger.

"So?" Sydney looks at her trainer.

"You're definitely improving." she says with an approving nod before turning to look at her watch again. They've been at this for an hour and Emily finds herself getting a bit antsy. As much as she enjoys anything that has to do with swimming, she'd rather be spending time with Alison. And of course, her paper is due in a couple of days. "Not quite good enough for varsity though." she adds gently.

"That's alright." Sydney replies and the lack of disappointment in her tone makes the seasoned swimmer wonder if she really cares about being on the team.

Sydney pulls herself out of the pool and Emily hands her a towel which she accepts. The shorter brunette wraps the towel around herself as she heads over to the showers, her trainer trailing beside her. It's an unspoken agreement that the seasoned swimmer wait for her pupil so when Sydney enters the locker room after her shower and finds Emily sitting on the bench, she isn't surprised. She is curious as to what's got the taller swimmer looking so thoughtful.

"If you don't mind me asking," Emily begins. "What got you so interested in swimming?"

She knows the shorter brunette has never swam competitively. Emily wonders why a new transfer would be so keen on putting all her focus on training for a sport instead of spending time on her college applications and enjoying her senior year.

"You." she answers like this should be the most obvious thing.

Clearly to Emily it isn't. She doesn't know why the new girl is so interested with her. She thinks back to the day they met, how she caught Sydney staring at her. It's becoming clear her trophy collection has little to do with why the newcomer has been quick to insert herself in Emily's circle.

"What do you mean me?" her question is rewarded with a suggestive grin.

"How are things between you and Paige?" the question, along with the fact that Sydney has so brazenly let her towel drop on the floor, catches Emily completely off guard.

"Um," she turns her head away from the pale girl's naked behind. From her peripheral she can see the newcomer sliding into her underwear. Sydney's never been so willing to flaunt her body around her before but perhaps that's because Paige was always in the picture. "I've realized that we can't be friends." she thinks about the reason why that is and a small smile creeps its way into her lips.

"So no hope for reconciliation then?" Sydney asks, tone a little too curious for Emily's taste.

Honestly, she can't even consider giving Paige a chance to win her friendship back. The girl hates Alison. She has her reasons. Emily remembers all the horrible things that the runaway did to Paige but she also remembers, up until the blackmailing began, her ex-girlfriend didn't exactly turn the other cheek.

Besides now that her relationship with Alison has been steadily evolving, she knows it's only a matter of time when Paige finds out.

She doesn't need to provide the rage filled swimmer a guise to voice her opposition. If she and Paige are friends she'll use that to her advantage and condemn Alison at every waking moment. She'll claim to be doing it out of concern for her well being. Really, Emily knows it'll just be jealous rantings.

"No." she wants to save herself and Alison the headache of dealing with her ex.

She knows they'll have enough opposition from their own friends. Hanna will probably be the one leading their intervention. She can almost picture all the banners that their friends would post, the speeches Spencer will prepare about how her letting Alison in is a bad idea, and how Aria will ultimately try to calm them down when things get too heated. They won't understand that ultimately, she never had a choice to begin with.

It's impossible to let someone in when they never left in the first place.

The seasoned swimmer feels the bench dip a bit as extra weight is added. Sydney slides close to Emily as she sits in front of the taller brunette. The action causes the seasoned swimmer to turn her head at the other brunette. Thankfully, Sydney is at least wearing her underwear. But then the half naked girl places her hand on Emily's thigh, a little too high and a little too close to her center for the taller brunette's liking.

Sydney has never displayed interest in her romantically before so having the newcomer come onto her is more than a little surprising. The normally sweet and good natured swimmer can honestly say the newcomer's actions are off-putting.

"If you ever need anything," Sydney gives her thigh a squeeze before flashing her a smile that's meant to be reassuring. "I'm here."

"Thank you," she says politely.

She slides her thigh away from Sydney's reach, wondering what's possessing her pupil to be so flirtatious. Because if Sydney has been into her this whole time, why has she been so chummy with Paige? She finds herself wary of her the brunette whose ulterior motives are still unknown.

XXXX

The tension in the air is palpable, making it hard for Emily to breathe. Alison's been quiet, offering her a tight smile and quickly worded cautiously spoken sentences as a response to the conversations she keeps trying to start. She's all too aware of the way those bright blue eyes are observing her as the runaway's mind seems to be struggling with something she wants to discuss with the swimmer.

It's seems she's only gotten worse since lunch time.

"Okay, what's wrong with you two?" ever the clever sleuth, Spencer calls them out for their odd behavior. "You've been off this entire afternoon." she looks at Alison before setting her sights on the taller brunette. "And you being here made her worse." she observes.

"Spencer can you leave us alone for a minute?" Emily requests.

"I don't know." the genius looks at the pair who are sharing this intense intimate gaze. "I already let you use my bed with Maya once Emily," she reminds the taller brunette. "I'm not so sure I'd be comfortable knowing you and Ali are getting it on while I'm doing my homework downstairs." she tries to tease her two friends but finds that neither of them are amused. In fact, she's sure she's just made things more significantly unpleasant. "Fine." Spencer relents knowing that the two have an issue to sort through. "But if I hear one sound that's out of the ordinary," she stands from her bed, gathering her things. "I'm coming back up here to hose you two down." the genius warns as she leaves the room, making a point to not close the door behind her.

It's unclear to Spencer if Alison and Emily are indeed hooking up but still she can't be too cautious. She's not blind. The two have been sharing furtive glances, leaving lingering touches on each other's bodies, but she doesn't know how involved the two are exactly. As much as she wants to sit them down and ask, she knows she's treading on thin ice. Emily still hasn't forgotten about the warehouse incident and Alison, well she knows the blonde won't tell her what she wants to know.

Her conversation with the runaway about Sydney's possible romantic interest in Emily is certainly telling. Then again she could just be wary of anyone new interacting with the girls.

But rather than confront the two over the ambiguity of their relationship, Spencer allows them this moment of reprieve. They clearly have something serious to discuss. There's a nagging thought it the genius's mind that perhaps Alison wants to talk about the Sydney thing but she pushes that aside. There's no way the blonde would be reacting like this just because the new girl's interested in Emily.

Unless of course, her two friends are no longer skirting between the line of friends and lovers. Perhaps the pair are officially romantically involved.

It only makes sense that Alison wants Emily to herself. But if that is the case, can the genius trust that this isn't some ploy of the runaway? Maybe the blonde is stringing the swimmer along again in hopes that someone will be in corner. Spencer sighs, knowing these questions won't be answered today.

She sits on her the barstool of her kitchen counter. Spencer cracks open her Advanced Calculus book. At least these were questions that she had definitive answers to.

XXXX

Minutes pass and the swimmer waits for the blonde to start a conversation with her now that's Spencer's gone. She knows that Alison always feels safer when they're alone. It isn't that the runaway doesn't trust their friend but she isn't accustomed to letting her guard down. Emily knows she won't feel comfortable, having the genius see her looking so troubled.

"Something's bothering you." Emily notes astutely.

She watches as Alison chews her lower lip, something she does when she's about to reveal earth shattering truths. Emily sits on the bed, readying herself for the emotional moment they're about to share.

"How long have you known Sydney?" the question shocks Emily.

The runaway decides to just get on with it, like ripping off a band aid. She can see the confusion on Emily's face as the swimmer wonders why the new girl's being brought up in their serious conversation.

"I met her on her first day." she answers nonetheless.

"You don't think it's a little strange that she wanted to join the swim team even though she's a senior?" Alison doesn't want to come out and say she's threatened by Sydney without testing the waters first because the last thing she wants is to instigate a fight.

"It is a little strange." Emily concedes.

"Do you think she has other reasons for being so interested in swimming?" Alison keeps her gaze down, looking like she's counting the threads on Spencer's comforter.

Emily observes the blonde, wondering if this is just Alison being careful or if it's something else. She can see the runaway practically fidgeting in her seat. She thinks back to their texts before lunch. Everything had been fine until Sydney came into the picture. She remembers Alison's look of suspicion and the way the blonde stiffened when the newcomer gave her a hug.

"Are you jealous?" the brunette asks, the notion foreign and seemingly impossible.

"I'm inquisitive by nature." she says, her defense mechanism up in full force. "I'm just curious." Alison insists because she's spent most of her life hiding behind that uncaring facade that it's become automatic for her to disregard her actual emotions by forcing herself to believe them as inquisitive instances.

"You're totally jealous." Emily smiles, her ego inflating.

The runaway sighs because ultimately, the swimmer is right. Jealousy is a familiar feeling when it concerns the athletic girl sitting in front of her.

"I know I have no right to be."

"I'm sorry if I haven't made it clear," the swimmer realizes that while they've made remarkable progress, they've been running on their emotions. They haven't established boundaries, haven't said the words that determined what they are to each other. But as Emily looks at the vulnerable runaway, she knows just labeling their relationship won't help. "You do have the right." the swimmer corrects because really, after everything they've been through, the runaway has every right to feel the way she's feeling. "But you should also know," she adds. "You don't need to be jealous."

"Don't I?"

Alison hands her phone to the swimmer. Chocolate brown eyes are treated to a picture of the her sitting in the locker room with a half naked Sydney's hand on her upper thigh. The text that accompanies it reads:

Looks like your mermaid found another friend to kiss - A.

"Alison, I don't…" she really shouldn't take so much pleasure in the fact that A was right to think that sending pictures of her and Sydney would stir the runaway.

"It was hard you know," Alison whispers, interrupting whatever protests the brunette has. "Seeing you with Maya." Emily freezes at the mention of her deceased ex-girlfriend. "I wanted to be so happy for you because you finally admitted who you really are but I just found myself wishing you were with me instead." she confesses and the swimmer didn't even think that the blonde had been keeping tabs on her since she'd been gone. "And when she died, I felt so horrible because I know you were hurting and I wanted so badly to be there for you but I couldn't." it nearly killed her, seeing Emily so torn about losing someone else she loved. "And then Paige came along and she was there for you when I couldn't be." Alison reaches out to Emily, hand grazing tanned skin against her cheek. "It doesn't surprise me that there's a line of girls that are out there waiting for their turn to be with you," she can't blame them because if there's one thing Emily Fields knows how to do it's to love. "Now that I'm here, that I can be here for you," she trails off. "It's selfish I know, but damn it I want you for myself." she's sick and tired of watching Emily be with some other girl. "And I know I've been saying I a lot…" she takes the swimmer's hands into her own after finally gathering her courage to look straight into the athlete's eyes. "But I realize ultimately it's not just about what I want." her hands cling onto the brunette as though she's afraid the taller girl will slip through her fingers. "So now I'm asking you, if you want," her voice is raw with emotion. "If you'd let me I can be…" she finds herself unable to talk because Emily's hands are cupping her face as the brunette presses their mouths together in an urgent kiss.

"Alison, it's always been you." she whispers against Alison's mouth. As much as she loved Maya and even Paige, she knows only Alison will ever have this hold over her heart. "It will always be you." she says, pushing away from the blonde slightly to allow her to see the truth in her eyes.

It seems to reassure Alison because she grips the back of the swimmer's neck and pulls her closer, demanding their lips meet once more.

Emily's hands settle on her hips. She gasps when she feels the brunette tugging her to the edge of the bed. The swimmer pulls away and Alison watches as the athlete begins to slide down onto her knees. The blonde gulps, taking note of the lustful haze that's written all over the swimmer's features.

"The door's open." she reminds, surprised that she's the voice of sanity.

"So?" Emily's nonchalance almost makes her come right then and there. "You can be quiet right?" no one else but Spencer is home so as long as Alison is quiet, she's certain she'll be able to hear any oncoming footsteps.

The blonde gives her a pointed look because really, if anyone knows what Alison DiLaurentis is like in the sheets, it's Emily Fields. She sees the mischievous look on the brunette's face that's accompanied by a seductive smile. Just the sight makes her incredibly wet. All thoughts of protesting are thrown out the window when the brunette spreads her legs, running her hands from the blondes knees to her inner thighs, stopping only when they reach the button of her jeans.

She lifts her hips off the bed, allowing Emily to slide her jeans and underwear down to her ankles. The swimmer presses a kiss to the scar on her thigh before licking her lips as she eyes her glistening prize.

Alison gasps when she feels the swimmer's tongue flick against her clit. She tries to keep it down, reducing her moans to breathy gasps and frenzied pants but it becomes increasingly difficult to do while Emily's mouth is suckling her engorged bud. She grabs the athlete's lengthy locks, the movement encouraging Emily to slide her tongue inside the blonde's wet folds. The swimmer's tongue is relentless as it circles her clit. She bites her lip to keep from screaming as she reaches the pinnacle point of pleasure.

The blonde collapses onto the bed and Emily rises up from the floor. The swimmer pulls up Alison's jeans and buttons them, making sure the runaway looks presentable as she collects her breath.

Alison doesn't have to wonder what prompted Emily to be so bold as to take her right then and there in their friend's bedroom. The majority of it has to do with her confession and well, at least ten percent of it is about revenge. It's the swimmer's way of getting back at their friend for teasing them earlier. It happened less than ten minutes ago but she still has trouble wrapping her mind around the fact that Emily just ate her out on Spencer's bed. If she hadn't been there she wouldn't believe it. She can't even bring herself to care about the fact that their friend will know about the act they committed.

Alison doesn't even want to think about what Spencer's going to do to them once she discovers they defiled her bedroom.

She can breathe easier, feeling secure now that she knows there's a better chance of hell freezing over than her losing Emily to Sydney, or any other girl for that matter. Thoughts of the new girl are instantly forgotten when the athlete sends her a boastful grin. She sends her a smile of her own before letting out a chuckle of disbelief. She already has the Hanna thing to worry about.

As far as Alison is concerned, their relationship does not need new blood.

XXXX

I'm thankful for the support you guys are giving this little brainchild of mine. I honestly didn't think I'd end up writing an entire series out of what was originally supposed to be a two shot! Funny how my mind works... And I do hope you guys enjoy reading my fic because I really enjoy writing it!

I don't know about you guys, but I wonder who Sydney is. It seems like they're going to go the route of Sydney wanting revenge because Alison hurt someone close to her since Alison doesn't know who she is. I mean why else would Sydney be part of Mona's crew to rid Rosewood of Alison. No offense, but I'd be mad if she turns out to just be Jenna's best friend or something. I'd be even more mad if she turns out to be Jenna's twin because it wouldn't make sense to me that Toby doesn't know he has two step sisters.

And I do hope the writers are just prolonging the Emison Endgame. I mean, they have until season 7 right?

Thanks again so much for the wonderful reviews! Keep them coming as the responses motivate my writing!


	3. New Lease

So, my take on what should have been the invite scene I guess...

XXXX

She's walking her mother back to the front of the school. They've just finished their meeting with one of her instructors. Really, she doesn't know why her mother bothers seeing all her teachers.

Pam Fields' only needs to see one teacher since they all give out the same rehearsed speech about her doing so well despite her situation and her struggles outside of school. Emily's beginning to think that, now with Aria's mom not working at the school, all the teachers probably have that speech printed and posted on the bulletin board at the faculty lounge. She's pretty sure they've memorized it and have given the same speech to the parents of her other friends.

Her mother's ranting about one of her teachers when she spots her walking across the hall. Alison gives a gentle tilt of her head, signaling Emily to join her in the bathroom.

Pam follows her daughter's gaze. She sees the pair, communicating something with a simple glance and a nod. She doesn't miss the fact that Emily's lips crack a small smile at the sight of her newly returned friend. She also doesn't miss the fact that Alison looks back at her daughter affectionately before heading into the restroom.

"Uh Emily wait a second," she grabs her daughter before she can make a clean getaway. "I just had a thought." Emily waits for her mother to elaborate. "Ask Alison to come by for dinner." brown eyes widen with shock.

"When?" the younger Fields asks after her surprise subsides.

"Tonight." Emily looks as though she's having a heart attack. "Yeah, spur of the moment." clearly her daughter never thought she'd make such a request. "If you want, you can ask the other girls to come too." she hopes it'll sweeten the deal but her daughter pales at the suggestion.

"She was just at the house." the brunette reasons.

"I know." in fact, Alison has been over the house plenty of times since her return. "But we haven't really had a chance to talk." mostly because Emily makes it a point to come home with Alison after dinner time and when the blonde does sleep over, they're holed up in her room. When the morning comes, her daughter practically drags her friend out of the house before Pam can even cook them breakfast. "Just ask her." the request sounds more like a demand. "I'm sure she'll say yes." the tone in her voice lets her daughter know Alison isn't really being given an option to decline.

Upon hearing that, Emily gives a tight nod. She turns around and leaves her mother to stare at her retreating figure as she heads for the girls bathroom.

Clearly there's no getting out of this dinner for her and Alison. As for the other girls, well she isn't certain they'll be able to provide her and the runaway support. More than anything, they'll probably just sit back and watch the train wreck pile up. Emily sighs as she reaches the bathroom door. She pushes it open and heads inside to meet Alison.

XXXX

Alison stands in front of the mirror, hands fixing the new scarf she's wearing. This time though, it isn't hiding A's handiwork. Rather, it's masking the marks that Emily's left all over her neck.

She catches the swimmer looking at her reflection in the mirror. Their gazes meet and the runaway can read the nervous look on her swimmer's face. She turns around quickly to face the brunette. Her hand automatically reaches out to the athlete's arm as her head tilts in curiosity. Alison flashes her a small smile, one that's meant to remind her that she can tell the blonde anything.

"So my mom wants you to have dinner at our house tonight." Emily informs, her note letting Alison know there's no getting out of this.

It's no surprise that the smile drops from the blonde's face. If the situation weren't so damn horrid, Emily would probably find it amusing that the fearless Alison DiLaurentis is now dreading the thought of attending a dinner hosted by Pam Fields. But now, Alison stands in the bathroom looking like she wants to throw up. The look of horror on the runaway's face is apparent and Emily knows this because she's wearing the same expression on her face.

"I was just there last night." Alison reasons as though it makes a difference.

"I told her that." her tone let's the runaway know she's just as freaked out about this dinner thing. It's certainly strange that Pam is practically demanding the runaway to have dinner after just having her over the night before. Pam Fields doesn't do last minute meals yet she texts Emily to let her know to get ingredients for their meal tonight. "My mother's making popovers." she warns and now it's Alison's skin which pales.

"Is your mom having a dinner party?" Spencer asks as she strolls into the bathroom with Hanna and Aria in tow.

They'd been so distracted they didn't hear their friends come into the room. Alison turns back around to face the mirror, not trusting herself to look at Emily without showing an ounce of vulnerability. Brown eyes look at her in understanding, not the least bit offended that the blonde is trying to guise her feelings. Emily too is trying to wear a look of nonchalance.

"My mom wants to have Alison over for dinner." the athlete explains, a little surprised that her voice isn't weighted by her nerves.

There's no point in lying to them about that part of the tale. Emily doesn't bring up the fact that the other girls are invited as well, knowing they'll jump at the chance to see her mother interrogate Alison about what exactly, neither of them know.

The athlete and the runaway find themselves wishing the questions will be about the fake kidnapping story. They've prepared for that event, knowing it to be inevitable. It's so much easier to lie about that than pretend that Emily and Alison are just friends. But the lingering fear that Pam wants them over because she wants to see them interact makes both the girls extremely anxious.

"Why are you freaking out?" Hanna questions as she looks between both her friends.

Unsurprisingly, she's the one who notices the way Alison is fussing over her hair too much and the fact that Emily is shifting her weight from one foot to the other. It's all tell tale signs of anxiety. Alison and Emily look to each other in front of the mirror, knowing they can't escape their friends curiosity. It's evident that Hanna's been keeping a really close eye on the pair.

"Pam Fields doesn't do random." Alison remembers Emily's thirteenth birthday and knows from that experience that the older Fields woman to be a meticulous planner.

Almost all her friends nod in agreement, save for Hanna who leans back against the sink. She crosses her arms and glares at Alison in disbelief. The animosity in the bitter blonde's eyes could rival that of Mona's. Emily shakes her head in frustration. This is just another reason why she doesn't want the other girls to be present for dinner.

"Are we supposed to be suspicious of everybody?" Hanna questions as she rolls her eyes, her tone indicating she wants to start another argument.

"Saves time." Alison answers steely.

She doesn't bother to explain that if one of them messes up, all their asses are on the line because it's apparent Hanna just wants to lash out at her. She knows it has something to do with Emily but there's a nagging thought in her head that Hanna's issues have little to do with her belief that the runaway is just going to break the swimmer's heart again.

"I highly doubt she's part of Mona's Minions or A's crew." Hanna scoffs.

Really she wouldn't blame Pam Fields if she were part of Mona's Minions. The fact that her daughter's being defiled by the town liar is enough of a cause for the older Field's woman to rally behind Mona and banish her from Rosewood.

"Are we invited too?" Aria asks.

Alison is happy to have the focus off of her. She doesn't really want to be dragged into another argument with Hanna so she pointedly ignores the other blonde's scornful comments.

"Just Ali." the way Emily's left eye twitches a bit lets the runaway know she's lying.

She isn't upset that the athlete doesn't require their friends presence during tonight's soiree. It's understandable why the swimmer would want it to be just the two of them at dinner. Their friends attendance will certainly do more harm than good. Hanna's attitude, Spencer's questions, and Aria's curiosity doesn't really need to be on the menu tonight.

"Maybe you need a buffer." Hanna inserts.

"We'll be fine." Emily assures because she'd rather she and Alison face her mother's interrogations alone because she knows the girls will also have their own questions.

"No, I think we should probably come over too." Spencer remarks, eyes glimmering with mischief and intrigue. She too thinks the dinner is a trap of sorts and a part of her is just too curious to see what Mrs. Fields has up her sleeve. "That way we can be there to change topics if it gets too awkward." she offers a logical reason though she knows from the look her friend's are giving her that they aren't buying it.

"Then it's settled." Aria says with finality, leaving no room for argument.

At their friends insistence, Emily calls her mother to say that the other girls are fine to come over. She swears she can hear the disappointment in her mother's voice. Mrs. Fields hoped the other girls wouldn't be able to make it tonight. It seems like one of the reasons Pam wants to throw this last minute dinner is because she wants to corner her daughter and Alison alone.

The thought alone sends chills running down her spine.

XXXX

She walks out of her classroom and is surprised to find Alison waiting for her by the door. Before she can ask the blonde if anything's wrong, the runaway grasps her hand. She lets Alison drag her along the hallway, ignoring the looks people give them. They walk slowly while the rest of the student body rushes to their next class.

By the time they reach their destination, the halls are empty. Emily stands by the edge of the pool, eyes on the chlorine filled water.

The scent calms her but she knows she'd be saner if she could actually get into the water. Alison seems to read her mind because she's squatting down, her fingers untying Emily's shoes before slipping them off along with the swimmer's socks. The athlete marvels at the blonde's attentiveness as she rolls up the bottoms of the athlete's jeans.

"Thanks," Emily says as she dips her feet into the water.

"It's nothing." Alison remarks as she sits beside the swimmer. "I know how much the water calms you down." she hopes this will help settle the storm going through Emily's mind. "You know once your shoulder gets better," the runaway traces circles with her index finger along the palm of Emily's hand. "We're totally going skinny dipping at the lake house." the comment leaves the desired effect as the swimmer blushes and smiles.

"Why aren't you freaking out?" Emily asks as she clasps their hands together.

"Believe me, I am." she admits. "But I think you're freaking out enough for the both of us," the brunette can't help but agree. "I thought maybe we can help each other settle down." she suggests. After seeing how disturbed the swimmer is, Alison can't help but shove her anxiety's aside to focus on the brunette's feelings. "I'm not going to lie, tonight's probably going to be a disaster." she rubs comforting circles on the back of Emily's hand. "But we'll get through it together." she gestures at their joined appendages.

The words and the water do well to settle the swimmer's nerves as she realizes that no matter what happens during tonight's dinner, regardless of what her mother's reaction is going to be, and even though her friends will undoubtedly offer protests the outcome will be the same.

"No matter what happens, we'll always have each other." Emily's conclusion is rewarded.

Alison leans toward her and the swimmer meets her halfway. They smile as their lips meet. The brunette uses her free hand to caress the blonde's face, her thumb grazing the dimple on the shorter girl's cheek.

They sit by the pool with Alison's head on Emily's chest, arms wrapped around each other. No words needed to be shared as they basked in the comfortable silence. To be honest, it never seemed plausible to the runaway. She's always believed that doing nothing is absolutely boring but sitting by the pool with the taller brunette running her fingers through her blonde locks provides unexpected yet welcomed entertainment. A thought occurs to Alison as the brunette grazes her scarf.

"You don't think your mom heard us last night?" it can certainly be reason enough for Pam to want to confront the two of them.

"I thought you were done freaking out." Emily teases as Alison pulls away slightly, hands still on the swimmer's thigh and the small of her back. "She didn't." her mom would have barged in the room if she had. "If anything," she begins. "This is my fault." the blonde tilts her head as she wonders what the swimmer could have done to provoke her mother. "I guess she saw me looking at you in the hallway today." she murmurs, cheeks reddening as she does.

She probably shouldn't have undressed Alison with her eyes in front of her mother. It was only after witnessing that did Pam Fields pull her daughter off to the side and invite the runaway to dinner at their house tonight.

"Well it confirms what she may have heard last night." Alison counters.

"Relax," she pulls the blonde closer. "I think she'd be dragging us to a courthouse in matching white dresses if she even had an inkling as to what we really do when we're alone together." her mother's a stickler for tradition.

"Maybe we should work on our self-control." Alison's suggestion is rewarded with a laugh.

"Yeah that's not happening." Emily chuckles because really, she can't help herself around the runaway. "I can't just be in a room with you and not think about how beautiful you are." she brushes the back of her hand along Alison's jawline. "Not think about how soft your skin feels," she whispers as her thumb grazes the shorter girl's cheek. "Or how good you taste." her tone drops lower, gaze hooded over by a lustful haze.

"And I really can't be held accountable for my actions when you say things like that." the runaway can't help but agree. "Or when you touch me like this."

Emily realizes her hand has made it's way underneath the blonde's shirt. She sighs, slipping her appendage over the blonde's top instead. As much as she would love to have Alison, she wouldn't dare take her in such an unsanitary place. She settles for giving the blonde a lingering kiss, one that's filled with promise of much more to come once she drops her off later.

"I have become a very hormonal teenager because of you." Emily states, not bothering to apologize for being so touchy because she knows Alison doesn't mind at all.

"The feeling is completely mutual." the blonde assures.

Neither can remember every being so affectionate with anyone else. For Alison, that isn't a surprise seeing as she's never really been romantic. All her past dalliances had little do with emotions beyond an itch she had to scratch. But for Emily, well she's been in actual relationships but she can't remember ever being so demonstrative with her affections. She wants to attribute it to the fact that she's so used to hiding but she knows she'd be mistaken.

Emily can't chalk it up to the simple fact that a part of her still can't believe Alison is alive because when she looks at the blonde who's been haunting her thoughts and dreams for the greater part of her high school life, she knows it isn't the case.

She's never felt this overwhelming desire, the kind that burns through her chest and pumps her veins full of heat.

She should be terrified but she can't bring herself to be afraid of being consumed by the flames of their fervor because when she sees those usually cool blue eyes, blazing with unbridled yearning, she knows she isn't burning alone.

Alison is in just as much danger of being devoured by their mutual desires.

XXXX

They make their way out of the pool, smiling and giggling as they pass through the lockers. The pair immediately regret their route back to civilization when they encounter a very aggravated swimmer.

"Can we talk?" she eyes Emily.

"I don't think that's a good idea." the injured swimmer says as she feels Alison's hand loosening on her grip and she realizes she's being given the option to let go but Emily only tightens her hold on the runaway. "Maybe when things have calmed down." she's not in the best place right now and knows she'll be more likely to snap.

"Look Emily, I'm sorry but just hearing her call me Pigskin again made me snap." Paige reasons, trying to ignore looking at Alison and the fact that she and Emily are holding hands.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to because it wasn't my face you punched." Emily reminds because it's clear that the Stanford bound swimmer isn't going to let her go quietly. She feels Alison squeeze her hand comfortingly and she sighs. "Let's just go." she looks at the blonde and proceeds to lead the way out of the locker rooms and away from Paige.

"Why can't you just see her for the manipulative scheming bitch that she is?!" Paige demands, tired of the fact that Emily continues to see Alison as a victim.

"The only bitch I see here is you Paige." her words sting much harder than any slap could. She can't stop them from pouring out. Really she should know by now that Emily won't stand for anyone disrespecting Alison. "She hasn't done anything to you since she came back." the injured swimmer argues because it's the truth. It's not like she stole the tanned skinned beauty from her. They had broken up before Alison came back to town all because Paige went back on her word. "Whatever she's done is in the past, so leave it there." they have more pressing things to deal with than this jealous ex drama.

"Don't you see, she's pulling us apart again!" Paige retaliates.

"There is no us," she declares, the force behind her tone lets her ex know there isn't any room for argument. "And you only have yourself to thank for that." Paige's demons are the reason they broke up in the first place. "For the love of god Paige, leave Alison and me alone." she really wants to leave before she can inflict more pain on her ex.

"You know she's just going to use you!" she accuses. "She's just going to break you." Paige sneers bitterly.

"I don't see why that should matter to you." Emily doesn't try to correct her thinking. She and Alison both know there's a better chance of cows flying to the moon than the runaway breaking her heart once more. The former ice queen has proven herself to the swimmer. Alison's given Emily the ability to discern the truth from the lies every time she looks into those bright blues. "I'm no longer your concern Paige." she turns but Paige isn't one to take rejection lying down.

"You say that now but you'll come running back." the words stop Alison in her tracks because really who does this bitch think she is insinuating that Emily would ever need her. "I'll be the one to pick up the pieces again."

Throughout the exchange, Alison had been quiet. Mostly because she's in awe of Emily who has been gallantly defending her honor. It's clear to her that the injured swimmer has grown into quite a remarkable young woman. She's still terribly shy at times and incredibly sweet over all but when push comes to shove, Emily Fields is no longer afraid to fight for what she wants. And as much as Alison doesn't want to resort back to her old ways, she can't help herself. Not when Emily's being degraded by someone who isn't even fit to wipe the soles of her shoes.

"Let's be clear on one thing," she glowers at Emily's ex-girlfriend. "You can be a bitter bitchy ex-girlfriend because Emily rightfully dumped your sorry ass," that's a right that every ex has and even Alison isn't a big enough bitch to deny her this. "You can even hate me all you want." even Emily won't blame her for that because she really did horrible things to the Stanford bound swimmer. "But you do not have the right to suggest that Emily has or will ever need you." because the thing about Emily that Paige doesn't seem to understand is that she doesn't get into relationships because she needs someone. "She's too strong for that." Alison remarks. "And the fact that you're moronic enough to believe otherwise just proves that I am right." she throws her one last scathing glare. "You clearly aren't good enough for her." Alison then drags Emily out of the locker room.

Her mermaid isn't one to assume the role of a damsel in distress. Emily doesn't get with someone because she needs a body to hold her through the night. She does things out of kindness and compassion. Her actions are always inspired by the love she has in her heart.

"We are beyond over Paige." Emily adds, looking over her shoulder, just in case it isn't clear enough for her thick-headed ex.

They race out of the lockers in case Paige decides to throw more obscenities. Of course Emily really wants to avoid contact with Sydney as well so they head for the parking lot. As much as it turns her on, knowing Alison's all kinds of possessive, jealous, and protective over her, she knows the blonde is already struggling with her emotions. They reach her car and the brunette opens the door, gesturing for the blonde to enter but the runaway remains in place.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself." she can't help but love every second that she told Paige off.

"Hey," Emily pulls the blonde as she wraps her arms around the shorter girl. "There's no need for you to apologize." she smiles to show she isn't the least bit angry but it does nothing to quell the misery that's marring the blonde's features. "Don't ever be sorry for being who you are." the swimmer asserts. She knows there will always be that part in Alison who loves to put people in their place. What matters is that the runaway will no longer torture and terrorize those that don't deserve it. "I know you won't hurt me." she trusts Alison with her entire being.

"You're too good at this." Alison whispers softly, as though she's afraid that any sudden noise or movement will wake her from this dream she believes she's in.

It's apparent that it isn't a call of the flesh that's bound them together. They're both exceptional at knowing what words need to be said and what actions need to be taken when it comes to comforting each other. The swimmer is too good at reading what the runaway wants. She's even better at convincing the blonde that she deserves this, that she deserves all the affection Emily's bestowing. And Alison's equally skilled at knowing how to bring a smile to the swimmer's lips.

"A wise person told me I need to be careful at what I'm good at." Emily grins as she recalls their moment in Alison's bedroom. "And I don't know about you but I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life doing this." because she can easily see herself with Alison for the rest of forever.

"I wish the same can be said for your mom." the dinner thing hasn't been forgotten.

"It doesn't matter." she'll fight the world if needed be because as she's said before, it'll always be Alison. "Just think of the dinner as a milestone in our future." Emily advises, trying to make the best of their situation.

"I guess we can kiss our sleepovers goodbye after tonight." Alison remarks wistfully.

"Is that what you're really worried about?" Emily laughs as the blonde continues to pout about not being able to quench their carnal desires during their sleepovers. "In that case you shouldn't worry," the brunette assures. "I'll gladly sneak out and climb up your window if it ever comes to that." she's teasing but really she'll go through with it because being with Alison is nothing short of addictive.

"Don't act like you don't want me as badly as I want you." the blonde counters, blue eyes narrowing as she dares the brunette to oppose.

"I can't help myself, you're just too damn irresistible." the athlete concedes.

"I was right." Alison tip toes before pressing her lips against Emily's and the brunette is a little shocked because they're still in the school parking lot. Granted there's no one else there since they're all still in their last classes but they could still easily be seen by a passerby. "You definitely are sexy in the sheets."

"You make me like this." the runaway just knows how to push her buttons in all the right places with all the rights ways.

"Great," Alison says as she drops sullenly into the car seat. "I'm sure your mother's going to love hearing about how I've turned her daughter into a sexual deviant." she states wryly as she thinks about yet another reason why Mrs. Fields will oppose her being anywhere near her sweet little Emily.

"It'll be our secret." Emily winks at the blonde as she takes her place in the driver's seat.

And it kind of has to be because as bold and daring as the brunette is, she knows she can only talk about these kinds of things with Alison. She's always been private when it concerns her sex life and she had never been able to voice her desires with her other partners. And somehow the blonde somehow knows this is an aspect of Emily Field's that only she's witnessed.

"I highly doubt anyone would believe me when I say that Emily Field's is worse than the freaking Energizer Bunny."

Alison's comment earns a loud laugh from the brunette. Her laughter can be heard over the sound of the engine roaring to life. The blonde can't help but smile as Emily reaches out for her and clasps their hands together. The swimmer drives off to the grocery store, feeling pretty relaxed about the impending disaster that will undoubtedly be dinner.

"You're not complaining are you?" she asks though she knows from Alison's willingness to participate that this certainly isn't the case.

"I would never." because she wants to indulge just as badly.

Having Alison there to talk about their sex life certainly helps. She's never been the type to be so forthcoming about the subject of coitus but being with Alison helps her understand the hype.

As she continues to drive, she can't help but think how much Alison's grown now that she's accepted her conscience. The runaway has become all too familiar with the domino effect. She knows all too well that her actions affect those around her and that's why she's more mindful when she operates. It's a trait that Emily loses when concerning Alison.

The athlete is driven by her emotions, causing her to see only the here and now whilst Alison has always been driven by schemes and plans that allow her to see the future outcomes.

It's unbelievable, bordering crazy really, how they balance each other. The blonde was vile and vindictive, never knowing a thing about virtue until she met Emily. The athlete taught her the value of love, that it isn't something to be given freely. It has to be earned. And the blonde in turn showed her how unhappy she'd be if she lived her life trying to please everyone else but herself. She'd been shown that it's okay to be a little selfish. The swimmer never would never have known the meaning of true happiness if she hadn't met Alison.

They've got each other to thank for their new lease on life.

XXXX

Ugh, so no Emison last episode because Spencer cockblocked them. What are your thoughts on what Alison did last episode? I'm just curious to see which direction her character is going to be spun in because her and Noel have a strangely deep connection. I really hope she isn't using Emily to gain an edge with the Liars and is secretly dating Noel or something... That would make me angry as f*ck.

Anyway, what do you all think so far of the story? Review or PM if you have any questions or comments.


	4. New Toy

Yay an update!

XXXX

At Alison's insistence, Emily drops her off at her house. After their trip to the grocery store, where the blonde also purchased a plethora of things from the baking aisle, the runaway practically commanded that the swimmer go home to help her mother prepare. Only after assuring the athlete that she'd answer all her texts and phone calls did Emily agree to finally leave the blonde alone.

She stands in front of her closet, clad in her underwear, as she browses for something appropriate to wear. Her eyes settle on a black dress. The swimmer grabs it from her closet and proceeds to slip it on. She hears a knocking on her door.

"Come in." the brunette invites as she slides into her dress, her back still exposed. She turns, expecting to see her mother standing there instead she finds a blonde bombshell wearing an appreciative grin on her face. "Hey," she greets, brows furrowing on her forehead. She doesn't have to ask how the blonde got there. "You walked here by yourself?!" Emily clicks her tongue in aversion. "Ali I told you to call me when you were ready," she reminds, tone reprimanding.

"I'm sorry." Alison apologizes, bright blues glimmering with sincerity and Emily sighs as those captivating eyes begin to suck the disappointment out of her system. "I didn't want you to pick me up and spoil the surprise." the blonde explains as she walks further into the room.

"It's definitely a good surprise." she says, thinking Alison's surprise only has to do with her outfit. "You look beautiful." Emily compliments.

"And you," she motions for the taller brunette to turn her back towards her. Alison zips up her dress slowly, as if she is struggling with the idea of putting clothing on the athlete's gorgeous body. "Look absolutely ravishing." she places a small kiss on the swimmer's lips, careful not to smudge their lipstick.

"Maybe it's better we didn't walk in here together." the atmosphere they'd have brought with them after appreciating each other's exquisiteness would have been noticeable by Pam.

At least now they have some time to settle their hormones while her mother's busy finishing up dinner. Alison seems to read her thoughts as she takes three steps back, eyes refusing to linger on the swimmer. Emily's phone rings and she uses the opportunity to tear her focus from the blonde's hypnotic form. It's a text from Aria asking if she should head over soon. Emily replies and takes a look at herself in the mirror. She runs her fingers through her hair as she readies herself. With every passing moment, she feels her stomach getting tighter and tighter.

"Relax." the runaway whispers, her breath hot against the shell of Emily's ear, as she comes up behind the brunette and wraps her arms around the taller brunette. "It's not the first time you've brought a girl home to have dinner with your parents." Alison reminds gently, letting the swimmer know she isn't jealous or bitter.

"It's not the same." she finds herself calming in the runaway's embrace.

This feels worse then when she brought Maya home to meet her parents as her girlfriend. One would think it'd be easier, seeing as she no longer feels the need to defend her sexual identity. It's not even an introductory dinner seeing as her mother's only fishing for information about their relationship. Perhaps that's why she's so nervous.

It's different now. She's anxious for an entirely different reason because she has no excuse to offer if her mom disapproves. It's not like Pam can accuse Alison of turning her daughter gay. Then again, if her mom knew their past she might just do that. The fact is if her mother offers any objections it won't be because she's rejecting her sexual orientation. It will be because she's rejecting the runaway as a person.

And it'll hurt, knowing that her mother doesn't think very highly of the woman she loves with her entire being.

Ultimately, it matters more because it's Alison. Alison who Emily thought was dead. Alison who Emily spent most of her adolescence loving unrequitedly. This is a situation Emily never even dreamed she'd be in. But here the swimmer is, standing in her room dressed in her Sunday best about to have dinner with her mother and Alison. Alison who's alive and returns her feelings just as fervently. Alison who's sporting a dress that's hugging her curves in all the right places and is short enough to show just enough of the legs the swimmer can't wait to run her hands on.

"I promise to be on my best behavior." the runaway declares, hoping this will alleviate some of the youngest Fields worries.

"I know you will." the thought of Alison not being anything short of cordial tonight didn't even enter her mind. She knows the blonde won't try to embarrass her or anything of the sort. They can count on their friends for that. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just…" she lets out a breath before pressing her lips against the blonde's, knowing it'll help settle the storm within.

"I get it." Alison assures.

The swimmer knows she understands because she's wearing the same apprehensive look on her face and Emily realizes that this means as much to Alison as it does to her. She takes comfort in the fact that the blonde is concerned. It only validates the runaway's feelings.

"Can you hand me a pair of heels from my closet?" she asks.

"You're sexier in the sheets than I thought." Alison comments as she walks out of the closet with a box that she holds with a raised brow and the swimmer turns to see what she's talking about.

"I don't use that kind of stuff!" Emily assures, cheeks ablaze, and Alison feels more than a little relieved that her mermaid has never played with toys before. To be more precise, she's relieved that her mermaid never engaged in this type of play with her former girlfriends. It can be another first for them. "Can you just put them back where you found them?" she requests but Alison remains in her place as she eyes the items in the box, hesitant to touch them.

"Then why do you have them?" as adventurous as she's become the blonde knows this isn't her mermaid's idea.

Emily would probably die of a heart attack if she ever enters a sex shop.

"Those are from Hanna." the swimmer explains the sentimental reason why she can't just throw them away and Alison's brow rises because this really just validates her theory about why their friend is being so resentful towards the runaway. "She gets me these gag gifts for my birthday and Christmas." after her birthday last year, Emily learned not to open presents from Hanna in front of her parents.

"Once is a gag," Alison begins. "But twice a year is clearly a message Emily." the runaway maintains as she reaches into the box and pulls out a rather sizable dildo.

Emily finds her throat constricted as Alison stands there with a hand on her hip looking incredibly domineering as she holds the phallus with her palm. She tries to fight the warmth pooling in her core as she tries even harder to fight the urge to use the toy to wipe the jealousy from the blonde's features.

Alison's frustration clouds her observation skills as she misses the way brown eyes darken to black with desire. She heads back to the closet only to have Emily press her against the wall.

Before she can formulate a question as to why the brunette's taking the box from her hands she finds the athlete's on her knees. And before she can form any protests, Emily's hand cups her womanhood. The swimmer needs to rid herself of this tension or else tonight will be even more unbearable. She can't just sit with Alison at the dinner table with her thirst unfulfilled.

The brunette hikes up the runaway's dress, as her fingers graze the blonde's outer lips through her underwear and she finds herself gasping because they haven't even really started, yet Alison's body is already responding.

She can feel the runaway's sticky heat practically soaking through her underwear and Alison groans as the athlete continues her movements.

They really don't have the time to explore alternative activities. Emily knows fully well they should stick to the older tricks in the book but can't help herself. She reaches into the box and pulls out a vibrator that Hanna's oh so thoughtfully provided. The swimmer slips her middle finger in the ring holes before clicking it on. The room is filled with a low buzzing sound and Alison groans as she feels Emily continuing to rub her clit through her underwear with the vibrator in her hand.

The blonde looks down. She sees the swimmer's free hand hiked up her own dress. Her knees begin to buckle because Emily Fields is not only playing with her.

The athlete's got her free hand up her dress and her face is contorting with such pleasure, a look that mirrors Alison's. Emily Fields is fingering herself while she's rubbing one out for Alison. The realization only causes tension to build up in the lower pits of the runaway's stomach as she feels her impending orgasm coming. She hears Emily gasp, a sound she makes whenever Alison slips her fingers inside the swimmer. That, plus the attention the swimmer's giving her engorged bud, brings her to her peak. She releases one long groan, shuddering as she orgasms. It isn't long until Emily's gasping and moaning as her own release comes.

"That was…" the youngest Field's finds herself brain incapable of producing coherent thoughts.

"Totally hot." the runaway finishes as she catches her breath, watching while Emily pulls her panties back on. "You are just full of surprises yourself aren't you?" she marvels at the swimmer's libido as she continues to lean against the wall.

After she's certain she'll be able to walk without her legs buckling from under her, she heads over to Emily's drawer. The swimmer watches as Alison rids herself of her damp panties before she digs her way inside the confines of the athlete's underwear drawer. Emily observes as the blonde begins to slide a pair of red lace panties on quickly. She isn't doing this to get the swimmer started again even though she knows that's what's happening as she feels brown eyes staring longingly at her every movement.

There's no way in hell the runaway is going commando during this dinner.

XXXX

Emily watches with bated breath as her mother and Alison stand on the porch. Her mother's telling stories about previous dinners she'd held where Mr. Fields made a fool out of himself. The blonde chuckles as Mrs. Fields finishes her story and Emily finds herself smiling because the two seem to be getting along.

Her mother hasn't thrown that sideways glance of disapproval because Alison's turned the DiLaurentis charm on full blast.

The blond looks over her shoulder at Emily, flashing her a reassuring smile before turning her attention to the older Fields woman. The athlete lets the two important women in her life talk amongst themselves. Just when she allows herself to believe that tonight might not be as disastrous as she originally thought, her mother turns toward their lawn.

"Hanna." Mrs. Fields greets with a warm smile.

Emily turns her head toward her friend who flashes a brief smile and a small wave of the hand towards her mother. But when her eyes turn toward Alison, they darken with contempt and her lips contort into a scowl. The swimmer feels as though an anchor's been dropped in her stomach.

"Hey Mrs. Fields." Hanna addresses the hostess for tonight's dinner. "Alison, what are you doing here so early?" she doesn't bother to mask her distaste.

"I wanted to see if I could help prepare anything." the runaway responds.

"I'd pay to see you helping in the kitchen." the resentful blonde scoffs, eyes narrowing in annoyance, feeling as though Alison's laying on her girl next door routine too thickly. "Do you even know how to use a dishwasher?"

"Mom, why don't we start setting the plates?" Emily interjects.

Her mother nods as she excuses herself. The younger brunette looks over her shoulder at her blonde. As much as she hates to leave the runaway alone with their aggravated friend, she knows she shouldn't let her mother see Hanna antagonize Alison. The former ice queen gives her a reassuring smile as her mermaid follows her mother inside their house, letting the athlete know she'll be fine. She's pretty sure she can handle Hanna without having to resort to her old methods.

"Hanna," Alison cautions.

"I heard about you getting into it with Paige today." Hanna begins, her gaze glued on the other blonde as she tries to decipher the runaway's motives. "The two of you dueling for Emily's hand and all that." the former ice queen waits for the accusations to spew from her friend's mouth. "How do you do it Ali?" she asks instead.

"Do what?" the runaway decides she to answer any questions her friend has as honestly as she can.

"Keep her wrapped around your little finger." Hanna crosses her arms across her chest, dark blue eyes firmly fixed on the runaway's features. She detects the slight annoyance on Alison's face. "I mean, you were gone for two years and yet when you come back," she tilts her head, mindful of the changes on the runaway's features. "Emily's still by your side." Hanna observes and Alison can't help but think her suspicions are justified. The root of Hanna's resentment is Emily's relationship with Alison. "Acting like you didn't lie to her about being dead all this time." Alison remains still, her face neutral, as she allows Hanna to continue berating her in hopes that maybe she'll get to the bottom of things. "She's so ready to place her heart in your hands."

"I know you don't trust me," she begins but Hanna's wry laughter interrupts her words.

"You expect me to believe that you feel anything for Emily?" Hanna let's out a bitter laugh. "That you can care for anyone but yourself?" Alison was a self-serving manipulative shrew who only did things to serve her purpose.

"I don't to expect you to do anything." she answers truthfully.

She knows Hanna's valid for doubting her capacity to love. Her past doesn't include warm and fuzzy memories, only fear and hatred. But she also knows this goes beyond trust issues. There's a reason, one that goes deeper than the obvious Hanna disapproves because she doesn't trust Alison bullshit, as to why the other blonde is so indignant with the idea of the runaway and the swimmer becoming romantically involved.

Something in those dark blue eyes tells Alison this has more to do with Hanna and Emily's friendship than the runaway's relationship with her mermaid.

"It's funny." the bitter blonde smirks maliciously. "I've been here all this time but it certainly doesn't matter to Emily whether or not I trust you." Alison's eyes narrow as she tries to decipher the meaning behind the other blonde's words. "Nothing matters to her but you." all is forgotten now that Alison is back. "I bet it's comforting," the bitter blonde lets out a sardonic smile. "To know that her world revolves solely around you."

"It isn't a one way street." she stands firm, ready for the impending argument to come.

"You only go after frat boys with fat trust funds." the resentful blonde refuses to hear Alison's words, regarding them as lies. "Of course Emily can't see that, can't see anything or anyone, because all she sees is you." and suddenly the veil of confusion is lifted allowing Alison to see why Hanna's been acting so cruel and unforgiving.

"Hey guys," Aria greets as her gaze drifts between the two blondes. The tension is palpable in the air. "Sorry I'm late."

"We haven't started dinner yet." Alison assures. "I'll go see if they need any help." the former ice queen ventures inside the Fields household, leaving Hanna and Aria out on the porch because as much as she wants to finish their confrontation, she'd rather do it without an audience.

The petite brunette cautiously walks toward her clearly irritated friend. Hazel eyes watch the black and blonde haired beauty.

"Hanna, you okay?" Aria's face contorts with obvious concern.

She observes her wayward friend, noting all the changes Hanna's going through. She remembers how glamorous the sarcastic blonde used to be. The petite brunette finds herself wondering how one goes from being dressed in Chanel from head to toe to dressing like she's going to attend Coachella.

"Just peachy." Hanna responds with a tight smile.

"Hey," their friend interrupts before Aria can finish formulating a question in her mind. Spencer greets as she stands beside Aria. "What'd I miss?" she asks and her question is met with an eerie silence that Aria instantly fills as she recounts the last time they'd been over for dinner at the Field's household.

Hanna hangs back as the two brunettes begin to converse, her eyes glued to bottle of vodka sitting on the bottom shelf of the drink cart.

XXXX

The swimmer tries to hide her smile but she can't help it as she observes the older Mrs. Fields with the runaway as they set the table. She watches in amusement as Alison places the utensils, with a determined look in her eyes, making sure they're equally spaced apart. One would think the glamorous blonde is preparing to perform surgery with how meticulous she's being.

To an outsider observer, the former ice queen looks unperturbed but the way her lower lip quivers and the tips of her fingers tremble lets the swimmer know she's nervous.

It's beyond heartening, knowing that Alison is frazzled by the dinner. The runaway only gets like this whenever A sends them a threatening text. Emily knows this can only mean that she seriously wants Mrs. Fields approval. Alison's actions only demonstrate how much being with Emily means to her and the swimmer can't help but marvel at the significant progress they've made in their relationship.

"You could help you know?" Alison looks up at Emily after Pam heads back into the kitchen.

"I could but I wouldn't want you to get annoyed just because I mixed up the salad fork with the dinner fork." she teases, earning a slight scowl from the blonde.

"You could stand to learn a few things." Alison goads, not missing a beat.

"I'm sure there's a lot of things you can teach me." Emily agrees. "And I do so enjoy learning new and exciting things to do with you." she says and the way her eyes practically blacken with desire lets the blonde know she's referring to their little adventurous romp in Emily's room not too long ago. The swimmer stands behind the runaway and places her mouth a breath apart from the smaller girl's ear. "Like for instance," Emily begins. "I've learned that you look incredibly irresistible when you're setting the table." she whispers, her tone heavy with want. "I've also learned that I wouldn't be opposed to just having you on this table right now."

"Later." Alison promises. "For now do you think you can refrain from turning me on while we're five feet away from your mother?" Emily chuckles, proud her efforts to relax the blonde worked.

"Oh Emily," her mother enters the dining room with a bowl of salad in her hands. The swimmer slowly puts distance between her and the blonde who resumes with her duties as she fights the blush adorning her cheeks. "Do you think you can grab the other dishes from the kitchen?" she questions and her daughter gives her a nod and a smile before she enters the kitchen.

"I better go see if she needs help." Alison informs.

Mrs. Fields gazes up at the blushing blonde with a raised brow but says nothing as Alison heads over to follow her daughter. She decides instead to focus her thoughts on deciding where she'll be placing the bowl of salad in her hands completely missing the fact that two other brunette's have been looking in their general direction.

"I'm worried." Aria starts as she and Spencer gaze at their friends who have entered the kitchen.

The petite literary major looks over her shoulder toward the doorway of the entrance to the Fields household, watching for any sign that their unruly friend is on her way inside. Finding none, she turns her attention back to the scholastic brunette.

"I know." the taller brunette nods in understanding. Things between their friends are quickly debilitating. "I am too."

"Should we talk to her?" Aria asks.

"And which her do you think will be willing to talk to us?" Spencer knows Alison's a vault with her secrets and surprisingly Emily's the same when it comes to talking about the subject of her and the runaway.

As much as they would love to keep the subject on Hanna when they talk to either the runaway or the swimmer, they both know that's virtually impossible since they all know Hanna's beef with Alison has to do with her relationship with Emily. And they both know it's pointless to talk to Hanna. Every time they ask her what's wrong, she only gives them a shake of the head and a poorly told lie about being fine. The only one who'd gotten through to her was Alison. Surprisingly, the former ice queen had placated their distraught friend before. It's baffling to them, how their recently returned friend actually sounded sincere as she talked to their resentful friend.

They'd been listening up on top of the stairs, ready to jump in just in case things got physical. They thought things between the two would be better after the two blondes conversed.

But it seems Hanna's grievances aren't just about being turned into Alison's clone. From what they gather of the arguments that the resentful blonde instigates, it has to do with Emily. And while they are all wary of Alison's intentions toward their athletic friend, Hanna's the one who hasn't been afraid to tackle the issue by attacking the pair.

All they can do is ready their nets to catch Hanna before she hits the ground and cracks her head open.

XXXX

She feels a pair of arms snaking their way across her waist, a familiar bodily heat pressing against her own. The athlete turns, facing her captor who won't meet her gaze. The blonde seems to be content to have her arms wrapped around the object of her affections and have her head on the taller woman's chest.

Her fingers lose themselves in the runaway's golden tresses as her other hand rubs comforting circles along the shorter woman's back. The touches coax a sense of serenity.

"Did Hanna say something?" Emily questions as she encircles her arms around the runaway.

While she understands that Hanna's going through an identity crisis as she tries to discover who she really is, the swimmer can't comprehend why the former glamour queen resents their recently revived friend.

She knows it isn't because Hanna's like Caleb, blaming Alison for every wrong thing in their lives. She also knows this has more to do with the her and Alison thing rather than Hanna wanting to separate herself from the runaway. What she doesn't understand is why the resentful blonde is pushing her away as well. If Hanna was acting of the need to protect her, she wouldn't be jumping at the chance to rant about how much of an idiot she thinks the athlete is for even thinking about giving Alison a chance.

"I just want to hold you." and never let go, the former ice queen thinks.

She finds herself apprehensive about the oncoming exchange between her, Emily, and Hanna. Because the runaway knows why the former glamour queen is pushing them away. Their exchange on the porch helped her understand Hanna and she can't help but feel a twinge of guilt wrench at her gut because yet again, she's proving to be every bit the selfish bitch everyone thinks her to be.

"Hey," she looks into those bright blues. "We'll be together no matter what happens remember?" Emily reminds gently, pressing her lips to Alison's temple.

As fucked up as it may sound, when her mermaid looks at her with those chestnut colored orbs shining with such love and affection, she can't bring herself to be sympathetic of the fact that she's yet again the cause for Hanna's unhappy state. It does however, strengthen her resolve.

Alison finds herself incredibly determined to show the world that she isn't going to play with Emily's heart like a kid with a new toy.

XXXX

Am I the only one who DOESN'T hate Alison? I'm not going to excuse her actions because they are a bit on the cray-cray side but damn I can't help but think she's one hot evil mastermind. Something's wrong with me...

Maybe it's because I feel sorry for her still. I mean, yes she had it coming with the manipulations and the lying but did she really deserve to have her head bashed in because people around her have secrets and she happens to know them? I get it, she's a blackmailing bitch but no one deserves to have their mother bury them alive to cover up even more secrets. It just proves the world she lives in, the people she's around, kind of molded her to have this eat or be eaten attitude.

And was it just me or did it feel a little bit like Sydney was coming onto Emily when she was apologizing? I think my mind just wants to turn every pretty girl in Rosewood gay.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read. Comments and questions are greatly appreciated!


	5. New Light

Sorry for the wait but here it is!

Oh and don't read my author note at the bottom if you haven't seen the new episode.

XXXX

The five sit in their places as they wait for their hostess to emerge from the kitchen with their main dish. Of course, Mrs. Field's is going to sit at the head of the table with her daughter to her left. And to it comes as no surprise that beside Emily sits Alison. At the other end of the table sits Aria by herself. Directly across from the runaway is her scornful friend. Spencer decides to place herself in front of their aquatic friend.

Between Hanna glaring at Alison, Aria's head bobbing between her friends in a mix of confusion and curiosity, and Spencer's accusatory gaze, the swimmer and the runaway find themselves wanting to hide under the table until the dinner's over.

A herself couldn't have concocted a better seating chart for this fiasco of a dinner.

Hanna takes another swig out of her glass while Alison and Emily watch each other from their peripherals. Spencer has her arms crossed in front of her chest as she observes the pair before her while Aria remains in the middle, uncertain about what she should say or do as she surveys both sides of the room.

It's clear to everyone in the room that the chicken won't be the only thing roasted at tonight's dinner.

The way Hanna looks at Alison, dark blue depths clouded with a predatory haze, let's Emily know her resentful friend fully intends to chew the runaway out in front of everyone tonight. It certainly doesn't help that Spencer looks every bit like a vulture waiting for Hanna to spit out whatever's left of Alison's carcass.

To be honest, that's probably what Emily finds most confounding. It's always been apparent their friends would be opposed with the change in their relations.

The swimmer just believed that the strongest opposition would come from the genius of the group, not the former glamour queen. Even before A entered the picture Spencer has always regarded Alison with a hint of contempt. They were always at each other's throats, as though they were vying for a title of sorts. And Emily understands the nature of their friendship, why Alison and Spencer are friends.

Every girl needs that friend she'll be competing with, the one she has to watch out for, the one who makes certain she is always wary and alert.

It isn't a healthy friendship but somehow the pair had make it work. So imagine her surprise when she finds that Hanna's the one who wants to rip Alison a new one every time she comes in contact with the swimmer. It doesn't make sense, why Hanna's so opposed. She knows this is what Emily's been waiting for, been wishing for since she hit puberty for crying out loud.

Out of all the girls, she expected her former roommate to be the most sympathetic. She's every bit a romantic as Emily after all.

Besides, she feels as though it's a little too pot calling the kettle black seeing as Caleb has lied to Hanna before and she forgave him. In fact, all the girls boyfriends have tricked them at one point or another. They really shouldn't be passing judgement on her for forgiving Alison when they'd been so quick to forgive their significant others. Really they should be congratulating her for continuing the trend in their clique's love lives.

"Here we are." Pam Fields announces as she enters the dinning room with an oven roasted chicken on a serving dish in her hands. She sets the plate down in the middle of the table. "I'd like to thank you girls for coming to dinner on such a short notice." she takes her seat and gives all the girls a smile of appreciation until her eyes rest on the recently returned blonde. "Especially you Alison." the older Fields woman zeroes in on the beguiling blonde. "I know you were just here last night so thank you for humoring me." she adds gratefully.

"It's the least I can do after you've opened your home to me." Alison replies with quick honesty.

"I want you to always feel welcome here," Mrs. Fields states, eyes brimming with sincerity. "Think of this as your home now too." Emily beams at her mother's words while her blonde counterpart can't help but wonder if the older woman will be so accommodating when she discovers the truth about her daughter's relationship with the youngest DiLaurentis.

"Thank you." the runaway looks at her with such gratitude. "But I wouldn't want to impose any more than I already have."

In all honesty, she's starting to feel a little guilty because she knows what goes on every night she and Emily sleep together on the same bed. Hell, when she remembers their last few encounters, she recalls that they didn't even need to be near a mattress in order to satiate each other's carnal needs.

"Nonsense." Pam waves her protests off and Alison feels like she's being killed with kindness as she's swallowed by her shame. "I know you're dad is out of town a lot and I know how unbearable it must be for you be alone after everything…" she trials off, knowing she's treading on a serious subject. "If you ever need need an ear, one that's an attached to an adult," her tone's laced with utmost sincerity. "I want you to know you can talk to me." she turns to face the other girls. "The same goes for all of you girls." her daughter's friends flash her a thankful smile.

"I'm sure Alison needs you more though," Hanna begins after taking yet another sip of her drink. "She's been through so much." sarcasm weighs her tone heavily.

"It's amazing she's still standing really." Spencer inserts dryly.

"I wonder where you get all your strength from." the bitter blonde remarks and Emily can't help but think that of course they had to wait for her mother to sit down before they began to pounce.

"I'm lucky to have someone like Emily by my side." she responds with the utmost candor as she reaches across the table and grabs the swimmer's twitching hand. The athletic brunette looks like she's about ready to jump over the table and strangle her friends but Alison gives her hand a squeeze, effectively calming down her mermaid. "I'm extremely grateful to have her in my life." she's even more appreciative of the fact that Emily's forgiven her, hell, that the beautiful swimmer has accepted her despite her many faults.

The swimmer gives her a smile filled with affection and tenderness as she applies a gentle pressure to Alison's palm, letting the former ice queen know that her swimmer shares these sentiments. To say Emily's extremely grateful that Alison is alive is without a doubt, a gross underestimation.

"It is nice to know someone's always," Hanna emphasizes. "Going to be on your corner."

Alison's head tilts as she slowly turns her gaze from Emily back to Hanna. The contemptuous look in those dark blue depths would be enough to cause a lesser person to retreat to Siberia. But the runaway sits still, hand clasped with Emily's, willing to take every insult and accusation her friends have to offer despite the fact that the battle's far from over.

"It is refreshing to know that there's someone you can count on." the youngest Fields remarks pointedly, eyes straying from the raging blonde and the rebuking brunette.

It's not a shock that their friends are conspiring against Alison. What's shocking is that they're doing it in front of her mother, who's looking around the table in curiosity. They're supposed to be there to help but they're fanning the flames as though they've forgotten that they're all going to burn together if Alison's story doesn't stick with even one of their parents. The runaway and the swimmer knew the inclusion of the girls would be an instant recipe for dinner but they hadn't expected such pandemonium.

"Well, I know for a fact there are people that love you Emily." the genius remarks and her friends wonder where she's going with this. "Have they offered you the assistant coach position yet?" Spencer questions. "I heard Sydney talking about it with Paige today." she ever so cleverly informs and Alison becomes rigid at the mention of her swimmer's ex.

"I haven't heard anything about that." Emily answers honestly.

"Paige didn't tell you?" the scholarly brunette earns a tight lipped shake of the head from the swimmer. "I thought you ran into her at the lockers today." Spencer urges the issue, earning a grimace from the athlete and a glowering gaze from the runaway because apparently everyone has heard about their heated meeting at school earlier.

"Ali and I were in a rush." Emily replies, trying to maintain her cool.

"How is Paige?" Pam questions lifting her glass to her lips, tone void of inferences as it indicates plain curiosity, as she turns her full attention on her daughter and the blonde by her side.

"I don't really know." the athlete doesn't think her mother needs to hear that Paige is beyond livid and is probably trying to picture ways that she could get rid of Alison permanently. "It was a quick encounter." she tries to cover her bases, hoping to whatever deity who's listening that her mother will drop the subject.

"Are you two still fighting?" Mrs. Fields asks a rather valid question.

"No," because she's cut ties with the Stanford bound swimmer. "We're done fighting." Emily's certain she and Alison have made their point clear.

There's a small part of her that feels a twinge of guilt that she's so willing to end everything with Paige. But she reminds herself that while they have history her future, her everything, is sitting within inches away. Alison's finally within her reach in body, mind, heart, and soul. She should hate herself for being so selfish but there's no point in lying to Paige.

The heart wants who the heart wants and against all reason, her heart clearly beats for her former ice queen.

"You made up then?" Spencer presses.

"Paige and I are over." she says with finality that makes her mother want to move on from the discussion but it doesn't have the same effect for her rebellious friend and the genius beside her.

"That's too bad Em." Hanna remarks as she reaches for her glass for what seems like the 100th time in the past hour. Her lips smack together as she sets her cup down. "Just when I was starting to appreciate how good you guys are together." she throws one more contemptuous glance in Alison's direction, a scowl seemingly permanently attached to her face whenever she looks at the other blonde.

"I'm sure Emily feels she's made the right decision." Aria looks around the table awkwardly, flashing a tight smile Mrs. Field's way before she drops her gaze back down to her plate.

Hanna and Spencer drop the subject of Paige at Aria's interjection as Pam begins to wonder if she's missed something because the girls are acting a bit too vigorous, bordering confrontational really. Silence encumbers the room. The clattering and scraping of silverware against plates can be heard clearly as it echoes around the the dinning area of the Field's household.

Surprisingly, Alison is the one to break the silence as she raises her glass to her lips, brow arched as her baby blues look toward her swimmer.

"Don't worry Em," she remarks, catching the athletic brunette's attention. Emily doesn't miss the shimmer of mischief in her demeanor and she finds herself regretting having taken a bite of her food. "I'm sure you'll find your happy ending soon." to the rest of the table, it seems like an innocent and uplifting statement. "I know just how much you love those after all." her tone is heavy with innuendo that can't be ignored, not even by the athletic brunette's mother.

Alison finishes her sentence with a flirtatious smile, one that's cleverly hidden behind her glass, and a wink which causes Emily to choke. The former ice queen quickly hands her a glass of water while she rubs circles on the small of the swimmer's back.

Mrs. Fields asks if her daughter's okay and Emily is quick to assure her mother that the red tinge on her cheeks is caused by her breathless state. It isn't a lie. She just fails to mention that she gets like this every time Alison smiles, looks, at her in that way that's reserved for her and her alone. She doesn't know why she's never noticed it before.

She's watched Alison flirt before, knows how the blonde tilts her head to the right slightly when she's thinking about her next move, or how her eyes narrow slightly when she plays with her victims. Her eyes always glistened with secrecy and schemes because Alison always had a motive, a purpose. But Emily realizes she's the only person that Alison looks at like this, with the utmost candor and concern.

Aria stares at Alison in disbelief while Hanna and Spencer regard her with distaste as they're all too aware of the fact that her hand's lingering but the runaway can't bring herself to care.

XXXX

Mrs. Fields returns to the table carrying a platter filled with cupcakes. Emily briefly wonders where her mother obtained the confections seeing as she knows her mother didn't make them and she doesn't remember seeing a box from a bakery earlier in the kitchen. The rest of the table helps themselves to a piece, save for Alison who glances between the two Fields women. Baby blues watch intently as mother and daughter begin to eat.

"Wherever did you get these cupcakes?" Pam asks, gaze landing on Alison, as she takes another hearty bite from the dessert.

"I made them." Alison ignores the way Hanna chokes on her cupcake, the way Aria's eyes have quadrupled in size, and the way Spencer's mouth is hanging wide open. She doesn't fail to see the appreciative smile on Emily's face. "Red velvet's your favorite right?" she asks as she focuses her gaze on the older Field's woman.

"Yes it is." Pam replies with an amazed smile.

Emily finds herself incredibly touched by the fact that Alison remembered such an insignificant detail about her mother. It only proves that the runaway is really trying to earn the older woman's approval and that she isn't lying about having feelings for her swimmer back then.

"I hope you don't mind the chocolate chips." she distinctly remembers her mermaid inheriting her sweet tooth from the maternal side of the family tree.

"It just adds to it." Pam assures as she takes another bite.

The attention to detail's greatly appreciated by both of the Fields women while Aria continues to eat her cupcake, marveling at the deliciousness, nodding her head in approval. Hanna eyes her cupcake, almost as though she's hoping that all of A's secrets will be located inside the confection.

"I'm surprised you had the time to learn a few new things." Spencer states as she sets her cupcake down, looking at it as though it was infected with ebola.

"I had a lot of time to think," Alison clears her throat as she tries to reel in her emotions. "All that time alone made me realize there's still so much I haven't tried, so much I haven't done." she remarks honestly. "I don't want to waste any more time." so much has been lost to her already. "Especially since there's a lot of things I have to make up for." her eyes drift towards the swimmer beside her.

"You seem to have gained such a positive outlook after everything that's happened." Pam comments, tone carrying hope that the revived blonde is truly remorseful.

It's then that Alison gathers that perhaps the oldest Mrs. Fields doesn't buy her kidnapping story. She finds herself wondering why the married woman hasn't run her out of town yet but when Pam's gaze shifts toward her daughter, she understands. The older woman's willing to try for Emily's sake. If only the same could be said for their friends.

"There's no one in the entire world like you." Hanna remarks.

Alison knows that Hanna doesn't mean it in a positive light but as she studies the beautiful brunette by her side, she can't help but think the same of Emily Fields who can't help but know that this is why they're meant for each other.

XXXX

Hanna sits in her chair, slumped, hand cradling her glass like she's holding the holy grail. She watches as the runaway and the swimmer grin at each other, both their cheeks tinging a reddish hue every time their stares meet.

The whole thing makes her sick to her stomach but she knows she's fighting a losing battle. Alison's got her claws so deep into Emily and there's nothing she can do about it, save for shipping one of them off to a distant island. She already tried something like that and it bit her in the ass because the swimmer won't even look her way without expressing disappointment with her usually warm chocolate colored depths. But she'll be damned if she sits around to wait for the incoming implosion that's bound to happen. Alison is nothing but great hair and a vortex of chaos after all.

She takes a huge gulp from her glass, downing the rest of her drink, when the runaway volunteers to help clear the table. It's clear the other blonde is trying way too hard to get Mrs. Fields favor.

If she weren't so damned bitter and plastered, she'd probably find the whole thing amusing. Here the great Alison DiLaurentis is, baking cupcakes, helping set and clear tables, running around playing Suzy Homemaker all so she can get Emily and her mother to be sympathetic towards her cause. The old Alison would have never needed to try so hard but she doesn't chalk the runaway's actions up to change. If anything, this only proves how desperate her returned friend is for people to be on her side. Hanna forces herself to think this is just another pathetic attempt of Alison's to get people to fall for her lies. She reminds herself that people don't change.

She sets her glass down as she coughs, feeling a burning sensation at the back of her throat. The alcohol slows her reflexes because as soon as the glass is on the table Emily's quick to raise the glass to her nose and sniff it's contents.

The troubled blonde looks around the room and sees Aria's eyes shimmering with shock, Spencer's looking at her with slight amazement, and of course Emily's gazing at her with such despondence. It's kind of the signature look the athletic brunette gives her nowadays. Luckily for her, Alison and Mrs. Fields come back into the room to pick up the rest of the plates, effectively delaying the sermon she knows her friends are preparing.

Once the table is cleared and the two cleaners return to the kitchen, Hanna practically bolts for the living room, evading her friends worried glances.

She's quick to reach for her jacket. There's bound to be an intervention that's going to be thrown in her honor by all her friends and all she wants is to escape the coming lecture. Her head is already beginning to the consequences of her beverage choice. The drunken blonde tries to reach for her purse but her athletic friend is quicker.

"You're not driving drunk." Emily states as she takes the keys from Hanna.

"Then I'll walk home." Hanna scoffs. "I can still walk in a straight line." the inebriated blonde argues with defiance burning through her every movement. "I can't stay here another minute watching you and Alison eye fuck each other at the dinner table." she begins to stumble as she walks toward the door, her resolve to leave growing stronger with each step she takes.

"Look Hanna, I know you're concerned but Ali's different now." knowing the defense is ultimately pointless, she tries a different route. "Can't you just be happy for me?" Emily asks in exasperation, extremely exhausted of fighting with her rebellious friend.

"How can I be?" Hanna questions incredulously. She turns to face the swimmer, her movement far too quick for her alcohol soaked mind to regulate her stability, and nearly falls flat on her face. As quick as ever Emily catches the inebriated blonde, arms finding their way to Hanna's waist as she becomes the drunkard's source of steadiness. "The ratio is all fucked up now and you know math makes my head hurt." she mutters into the athlete's shoulder and the swimmer wants to attribute it to drunken murmurs but Emily knows there's more to it than the mutterings of an angry drunkard. Because drunk Hanna means an even blunter Hanna. So she waits for the truth to spill from those liquor scented lips. "It's back to two by two's by one." Hanna's confession only increases Emily's confusion.

"Hanna," still she doesn't understand. "I can't stand seeing you like this." it hurts, seeing her friend so miserable. "You're one of my best friends." Emily assures.

"But that's just it!" Hanna all but screams as she pushes herself away from her pillar of strength. She doesn't get very far because she's staggering again. "Alison's back and I'm back to being just one of your other best friends." the resentful blonde looks away from Emily's penetrating gaze. "When she wasn't here, it was Team Sparia and Team Hannily." she whispers and it makes so much sense to the swimmer. "Now it's Sparia and Emison." there's a bitter smile across Hanna's lips and Emily steadies the smashed blonde. "Hefty Hanna's all alone again." Hanna slurs as she tucks her head in the crook of the athlete's neck.

"Hanna?" Emily's question is rewarded with a soft snore.

"I don't think there's coffee strong enough to wake that one." Spencer announces and Emily can't find it in herself to care that the genius and the English major have been watching their entire encounter.

She does however care about the fact that Alison's standing in the living room with an unreadable expression.

XXXX

Alison stands in the doorway, shoulder pressed against the frame as she leans against the entrance. She watches as Emily places their friend onto her bed, carefully taking off the inebriated blonde's boots, before tucking Hanna in between her sheets. It's captivating really, how much tenderness the brunette can display with her actions. Emily's capacity for affection is unlike anything Alison's ever seen.

The athletic brunette tears her eyes away from Hanna. She turns to gaze upon her former ice queen and the desolate look on Alison's face brings her to her feet.

"She's right." Alison remarks as Emily walks toward her, the athlete's steps weighted with her concern. "This," she gestures between her and her mermaid. "Us," her throat constricts but she fights against the tightening, pushing the words out as quickly as she can. "It's going to ruin friendships." she declares. "Ours with theirs." everyone's really.

"But we're not giving up right?" she clarifies because she knows even though the blonde has changed, the runaway is still and always will be a fighter.

"God no." Alison answers honestly. "I could never give you up." not when she'd just reclaimed her place by Emily's side. She'd go through a thousand A's before she'd even think about letting her mermaid go again. "I just hate that you have to fight for me anymore than you already have Emily." she whispers, not willing to taint her mermaid any further than she already has. "Especially that you have to fight with them." the four have been through so much. "Because I know how much it hurts you."

"You spent a lot of time trying to tell me to grow a backbone but you haven't asked me what I want." she responds with a smile because Alison needs to be reminded of what exactly they're fighting for.

"What do you want?" asking is pointless really since they both already know the answer.

"You." she responds, voice void of hesitation. The way her chocolate colored depths shine with sheer determination makes Alison's heart thud against her ribcage. "It's selfish I know," but she can't bring herself to really care. "When it comes down to the moment, I will always choose you." there's no point in lying. She takes the shorter woman's hands with her own, grasping gently as she stares upon those baby blues with brown eyes shinning with an intensity that burns through Alison's soul. "But that doesn't mean I won't fight like hell to make sure the girls are safe." and the runaway finds it amazing, how Emily can be so altruistic and selfish at the same time. "You think that you're incredibly selfish for wanting us even though you know the whole population of Pennsylvania will probably disprove," she voices Alison's qualms. "But you're not." because the runaway is standing in her room, trying to be the voice of discouragement. "The fact that you're here telling me about how we're gonna end up hurting our friends proves that you care about Hanna, Aria, and Spencer."

"I do." the declaration is unnecessary but it's nice to hear out loud.

"I know that, just like I know I'm what you want too." she says with such confidence that Alison can't help the smile that finds its way to her lips. "And that's totally okay because I want you just as much." she persuades as she cups the blonde's cheek, her palm warm against the runaway's cool skin. "Are you still staying?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." her gaze drifts to the snoring blonde sprawled out on Emily's bed. "It's better if I stay the night with Aria." she knows the two friends need some time to themselves.

"Right." the athlete breathes.

Emily nods her head before sealing their lips in a kiss. It's slow and comforting but it doesn't take long for things to get heated because Alison wraps her arms around Emily's neck, drawing their bodies closer together. The runaway's tongue brushes along the bottom of the swimmer's lip, seeking entrance which Emily eagerly grants. They press their lips together once more, promising to pick up where they're leaving off at the first possible moment.

The belief Hanna fucking owes the both of them rings in both their minds.

With a heavy sigh, Alison steps back from the taller brunette's reach. She turns, about to make her way out but a realization halts her movements. Emily watches with curiosity when the blonde lingers by her doorway.

"Emily," she struggles to push the truth from her throat, finding them too heavily weighted by her emotions. Blue eyes turn to shift the athlete's gaze. "I would too you know?" her tone comes out as a strained whisper. But she needs to say it, to tell her mermaid just how much she means to her. "There's no other choice but you." she declares, her words louder and bolder as she finds her strength.

The athletic brunette doesn't doubt her words because all her actions and efforts are testament to just how much her swimmer means to the former ice queen.

For Emily, Alison is willing to try her best for everyone to see her in a new light.

XXXX

**SPOILER**

Last episode totally broke my heart for a little while but suddenly I remembered Alison's words. I really think she'll do her best to make this right! It might be easier to do when the girls aren't questioning her every move. Their issues and consciences are kind of weighing Alison down. They need to stoop to A's level if they expect to come out on top. A clearly has no morals and you can't expect a clean fight from someone who's so incredibly dirty.

I don't understand why she had to get Noel to scare Hanna's mom when she had Cyrus who's willing to confess. Anyway, I don't think she can be all that bad when she's clearly trying to get Cyrus to change his ways.

Damn that scene between her and Em made me want to cry though... I'm kind of wishing that the show's going in the direction that my writing is. I'm not tooting my own horn or whatever, just wishing Emison doesn't have to suffer such a blow. But I'm not losing hope just yet. There's still part 5B and seasons 6 and 7!

To quote Noah Calhoun from _The Notebook _"It still isn't over."

**END SPOILER**

I wanted to post yesterday but life got in the way. I always thought the dinner scene would have been more entertaining if the other girls were there too. I hope no one is too disappointed with the Emily/Alison/Hanna situation and confrontation. Worry not, the drama isn't quite over yet!

So what do you think of the fic so far?


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